silent friend, the bed, stretching out its soft white arms for him. When he went down-stairs, at noon, Miss Plumb sat under the trees, with an open book before her. "What are you reading?" he asked. "Bryant's Poems," she replied. "A book to be bound in bark," said Richard, "fragrant bark, too, and tied up with wild grasses. It is of the woods, woody. I never knew," he continued, "the real worth of Bryant until I took him to the haunts of Nature with me. His beauties, like the virtues of a wife, shine in the shady places of life." Richard talked thus to keep off the one unpleasant subject that oppressed his thoughts. But Miss Plumb was not to be trifled with. "I'm surprised," said she, abruptly, "that you brought me no letters from New Bolton." Richard was leaning on his hand, so as to conceal his face, and he said nothing in reply. "You called on Mary, I suppose, before you left?" Richard shook his head. 66 Matters seem to have reached a climax," said Miss Plumb. "I want to be frank with you," she added, after some hesitation; "for I think I could tell you something you would like to hear." Richard instantly turned his face, and looked at her inquiringly. "But I ought to know," said Miss Plumb, "just what your relations are with the New Bolton people, and why you came here this morning." "I believe," he replied, "that such an explanation is due; but you cannot imagine how hard it is for me to make it. Let me begin at the beginning-" then Richard suddenly colored deeply, and rose to his feet. Doctor Blodgett and Plumb had just returned from hunting, and stood close to them. The Doctor's looks were decidedly menacing, and his jealousy was increased by Richard's confusion. He shook hands coldly, and treated Richard so much like an intruder, that he strolled off to the waterfall, and stretch ed himself on a grassy mound in the shade of an oak. CHAPTER VI. NEW BOLTON waked up, the morning after Richard's departure, conscious that it had lost a lawyer, but congratulating itself on having gained a land-office : Land-Office of Chinny & Co. Co. unknown, but senior member of the firm present, with his feet on the window-sill. Some disrespectful village-boy thought he sat in that way to let his brains settle, his head being considerably lower than his heels. The fact is, however, he was spreading himself out as much as possible, that he might enjoy, to his utmost capacity, his recent acquisition. Without this, the triumph over Richard would have been incomplete. But Mr. Chinny did not waste himself in idleness; he was preparing his mind for another victory of still greater importance. He had cunningly chosen the time for his last attack, when the garrison was weakened by desertion. From the left breast-pocket of his black broadcloth coat, Mr. Chinny pulled a pair of kid-gloves. He undoubtedly looked on these as evidences of his wealth and standing, and commenced putting them on. But they hung back, and could not have been more obstinate if they had been made up of mule-skin. Finally, after these were subdued, except the ugly wrinkles, that would rise up on the back, and could not be made to lie down, but became inflamed, and seemed to swell the more he rubbed them, he attacked his collar. This was a vicious case. There seemed to be some latent, aggravating force, located in his left ear, that attracted the front of his collar, in spite of all his efforts, until he took out the pins; and then the attraction was suddenly transferred to his right ear. Having overcome this last difficulty, by several spiteful jerks, and taken a few cloves in his mouth, for sweetness, he walked to Colonel Seabray's house, and was shown into the parlor, where he found Mary alone. "I may have suspected it, because father, for some reason, considers your "Is there any news this morning, Mr. friendship very important-of enough Chinny?" "No; nothin' particular. Every thing is going right, I believe. Nobody dead, and nobody run away, since I seen you last night." There was a very deep flush on Mary's face, and an awkward pause here. "There are a great many people coming into this country now, I am told," said she. "Yes, business is brisk. We are fillin' up fast; and we're mighty bad off on account of not havin' railroads. Makes it bad for me, livin' as I do; for men leave their families here to go a prospectin', and the families must eat and sleep somewhere. So, of course, the hotel is crowded to death, and board is gettin' higher, too. It ain't the way to live," said he, looking about the room. "Rather unpleasant, I should think," said Mary. "Unpleasant, uncomfortable, and unprofitable," said he, secretly congratulating himself on having got together these long words, that sounded well to him; “and I ain't goin' to live so, much longer," he added. There was another long pause, during which he took an exact inventory of the furniture, and gave his collar an admonitory jerk. "I've talked to the Colonel about it before." Mary did not speak or look at him. "I s'pose the Colonel has told you what I proposed to do?" Chinny added. Mary looked at him inquiringly. "What my offer was to you," said he, changing his position in the chair, and dodging his eyes about to avoid hers. "I could tell," said she, "if I knew the exact terms of the proposal, whether I have ever heard it before or not." "A proposal of marriage from me to you," said he. "He has never made any such proposal in your behalf," she replied, turning pale. importance to have you become a member of his family, should it be found possible and necessary." "Is it possible for me to become a member of his family?" asked Chinny, turning as pale as a white-livered man could on so short a notice. "Many things are possible that are not probable," she replied. “Now, that means nothin' at all, if I understand it," said Chinny. "I reckon we are well enough acquainted to talk pretty plain about these things. I've got no secrets myself." Will you please tell me, then,” said Mary," what your relations are to father, and why you have such an influence over him?" She held her breath, and looked at Chinny eagerly. “I mean, I hain't got any secrets o' my own," he replied, hesitating. "You mean, you can not talk plainly," said Mary. "It would be dishonorable to do it, unless your father let me. Why don't you ask him about it? "He will not tell me," she replied. "But I cannot see what there is to fear; for you refuse to reveal this secret, even to me, without his permission." "But he's afraid I'll tell it," said Chinny. "Then he must think you are not a man of honor," replied Mary. "The Colonel knows well enough that I'll do as I agree to," said Chinny, "and that I won't do a thing when I say I won't." "But must you agree not to do a dishonorable thing, before you can be relied on not to do it?" asked Mary, in a tone that would have stung a gentleman. "You talk like a lawyer," said he, trying to be facetious, and retreat under cover of a smile. "I have thought like a lawyer on this subject," she replied; "and you have not." "The long and short of it is," replied "But you must have known of it," Chinny, turning at bay, "if any one is said Chinny. my friend, I'm his friend; and if he's my enemy, I'm his enemy. Now, we are to be friends or enemies: which is it?" "That depends on circumstances," she replied, rising, and going toward the door. There was a sinister expression on his face as she turned, and said, in a conciliatory tone, "What will come, will come; you must wait. When the pear is ripe it will fall to the ground, and all the forces of nature cannot hold it up." "It is ripe enough, I reckon," said Chinny, doggedly. "The question is, who's goin' to be the lucky man to eat it?" Her eyes flashed at this; and Chinny involuntarily shrank into his chair, as she walked toward him. But she checked the bitter words that were on her tongue, and said, "When the pear falls we shall see." "I reckon it's better for it to fall than to hold on till it pulls the tree over," he replied. "I have respected you," said Mary, with dignity, “as father's friend; but I cannot respect a man who threatens me. If you intend to threaten me now, consider our friendship at an end." "I don't make threats intentionally," said he. "I have been friendly to the Colonel, and always want to be. I've let him have money, too, whenever he wanted it, and took him into things to help him." "I know you have a mortgage on this house," replied Mary; "but that is a business transaction, and should have no place in this conversation; therefore we will not trouble ourselves with such things. Let us be friends; for I can see no good reason for our being enemies. We must be patient, and leave these hard problems to the solution of time. Now, let us part while we agree so well," said she, presenting her hand to him frankly. Good-day!" Chinny went down the path grinding his teeth with rage. After all his preparation, and determination to get a positive answer that day, he had been cleverly foiled. Not only that, but Mary was farther off than before, being protected now by a treaty of peace, which Chinny could not safely break at present. His visit had confirmed Mary's resolution to return at once to Chicago. She told her father of her determination that night, and made preparations for the journey. He mildly remonstrated; but when he returned home the next evening, she was gone. Great was Chinny's wrath when he learned that Mary had left New Bolton, and dire the vengeance he threatened. He immediately commenced the foreclosure of his mortgage on the Colonel's house. As, under the laws there, it takes from eighteen months to eighteen years to get a sheriff's deed, there will be some leisure left us to visit Plumb's Lake. CHAPTER VII. NEVER before, in that country, had so many wrinkles been smoothed out of clothing, nor so few hairs combed so many times, on one head, in one day, as that day at Plumb's; and the clothes, wrinkles, and hair belonged to the Doctor. Knowing him to be a physician and surgeon, one would have supposed, on seeing him come out of the cottage that afternoon, that, if he were not going to a wedding, he must certainly be on his way to amputate somebody's leg at least. His face was sombre, and his eyes severe, as he approached Miss Plumb. "I have long entertained for you feelings of the highest esteem," said he, with business-like precision. Here he came to a dead halt, for Miss Plumb had dropped her book, and was looking up to him with a beaming face. As he hesitated, the expression of his countenance softened, and he said, frankly, "I offer you my hand." "Which I accept," she replied, rising, and extending both of hers to him. The Doctor grasped them, and looked into her eyes, hardly knowing what to say at this unexpected answer. When he sat down, great drops of perspiration stood on his forehead; and he found it necessary to turn down his collar, and wipe his head, up and down and crosswise, with his handkerchief, until his hair looked as if it had not been combed since he went to Sundayschool. But every rub removed a wrinkle from his face, and a doubt from his mind, as Miss Plumb talked, and he found he had been unnecessarily jealous and hasty in proposing to her. She told him that French and Mary were in love; that the Colonel was opposed to Richard, because he was in the power of Chinny, who wanted to marry Mary. "I am satisfied," said Miss Plumb, "that the Colonel used to go down the river to gamble, and that he is the man who shot young Meech at the gamingtable, on a Mississippi River boat, some years ago. I believe Chinny knows this, and threatens to expose him. I have tried, in various ways, to keep him from bringing this ruin on the Colonel. I wrote Mary not to be too friendly with Mr. French, and to give Chinny some slight encouragement; for I hoped, in that way, to keep him still, until we could gain time, and find means to silence him." "This is most extraordinary!" said the Doctor; "because it is not true that Colonel Scabray shot Meech." Miss Plumb stared now, and thought of Chinny's inquiring of her whether she had ever heard that the man who shot Meech was a doctor. gambled away, and then became desperate and insulting. It was about four o'clock in the morning, after they had all been drinking, that the shot was fired; and there was such a general wrangle going on about the table, that no one present could have had a very clear recollection of what occurred. The secret of Chinny's influence is this: the Colonel seeks political preferment, and thinks he would become very unpopular were the people to hear that he had been a gambler on a river-boat; and though he did not shoot Meech, the accusation would ruin his political prospects." "What shall I do?" asked Miss Plumb. "You had better write Miss Seabray, inviting her to visit you; then do what may seem best," he replied; “and I will deal with Chinny when it becomes necessary." It When the carrier arrived, Miss Plumb had a letter ready; but she received one from Mary, filled with reproaches. was clear now, that her last letter to Mary had been misunderstood, and led to the difficulty ending in Richard's flight. Miss Plumb thought she had better not send the letter, but drive over to New Bolton, and make explanations to Mary, while the Doctor sought Richard for the same purpose. He found that young man under an oak, reading Blithedale, which was a hopeful indication. "I beg pardon," said the Doctor, “for "Why, then, should the Colonel be my rudeness to-day. I did not fully afraid of Chinny?" she asked. "That is the reason I am surprised," said the Doctor; "for, of course, the Colonel must know that he is not guilty. A man named Tyson, or Bryson, shot young Meech. He died, not long since, and I read his confession in a paper. Bryson said that he alone was guilty, and that he made the confession, because another man had been accused of the crime. I did not know until now that the Colonel had ever been suspected or arrested. I believe Meech was the son of a planter. He had a large amount of money with him, which he understand matters then; but I do now, and it's all right. It was my duty, as a physician and friend, to inquire into your malady, and administer proper remedies. What is your present condition? What made you leave New Bolton?" Richard briefly told the Doctor what had occurred, concealing nothing. "So you see, that, after the Colonel had shut the door in my face, and Mary had discarded me, I could do nothing but get a pony, and start for tall timber -could I?" asked Richard. "Of course, when a man concludes not to fight, there is no way left but to run," said the Doctor; "and, so far as it may result in breaking off an attachment you have formed for Mary Seabray, it will be a good thing. This early love-making is to be classed with poetizing and other juvenile indiscretions. It is a hopeful indication, if not indulged in to excess; and as near as I can learn, you have had enough of it. Success in business is the foundation on which you must build; all else is sand. I advise you to go back to New Bolton as if nothing had happened, and open an office in the old place, if possible; at any rate, open an office. I will give you a letter to my deputy, who will furnish you money to buy books and pay all necessary expenses, until you can stand alone. I have a project, which, if carried out, will help you. There is to be a railroad from New Bolton to the Mississippi; and we must control the route and locate the stations. I am now a director, and want you appointed attorney, when the time comes; and it seems to be coming fast." "This, now, my dear Doctor, is what I came West for," said Richard, throwing down the book; "and I am your man for the new enterprise. Tell me which way I shall first go." "Well, you may get on your pony, and ride over to Wright's. He lives about five miles out of the way; and I suspect he is opposed to me. I want to know whether he is or not; and you can find out. Take a gun with you, for it is good chicken-shooting there. When you have found out all you want to, ride to New Bolton, and write me." Richard found that Wright wanted the railroad to run past his house. To any one who would locate it there, he was friendly; and those who opposed his plans, he looked upon as natural enemics. That was all Richard could learn, except that Wright had a large family of girls, who advocated their father's views with uncommon zeal. Richard rode into town the third day after leaving Plumb's, much to New Bolton's surprise. It was not exactly what N. B. had predicted, and had a right to expect. N. B. thought that he went away to marry the daughter of an Indian-chief, who lived in the merry green woods by the great lake up north, and had offered a large fortune for a white son-in-law. Coming back to practice now, New Bolton considered very flat business on Richard's part. Chinny was out of town. Some said he had gone to Chicago, where he was going to marry Mary Seabray; others thought he was off trading horses; but Old Bob declared that he had got disgusted, and gone to Turkey Bend to live. Duke was in charge of the landoffice, with instructions to sell the books to the first buyer; and the Doctor's deputy got them for less than the face of the mortgage. When New Bolton found Richard in a new office, with his old books on the shelves, and his old sign by the door, it stared a little, of course; but when it Iwas found that he was an enthusiastic advocate of the pet railroad project, he immediately became popular. What tended to increase admiration for him, was Chinny's course, in devoting himself to his own interests, and opposing the interests of the public. He wanted the railway-line surveyed, so as to terminate on his farm, lying about a mile from town; and insisted upon other changes, which would make the line inconvenient to New Bolton people. This made him unpopular there; and the New Bolton directors refused, not only to change the route to suit him, but insisted on leaving out Turkey Bend entirely. Whereupon there was a meeting called, and a struggle between Chinny's friends from the country, and Doctor Blodgett's friends, which resulted in the Doctor's election to the office of president. He was given power to appoint an attorney; and gave the place to Richard. This completed the organization of the company; and a preliminary survey was ordered from New Bolton, by way of Plumb's Lake and Globe City, to the Mississippi. Richard accompanied the party, with a note-book, field-glass, and gun. The |