The Argosy — page 342: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Ghost of ‘* Ours.” 321 what, in the name of all that is iniquitous do you mean by conduct- ing yourself as if you were one or the other? Your conduct is equally indefensible, whichever you are. If you were only the ghost it would be bad enough to haunt your own regiment till you gave it a bad name; but if you are the real living man, and can let the sweetest woman in England fret herself into her grave for your shabby sake - “Stop there! You know nothing about it!” said he, turning sharp upon me. ‘“ What an impudent young beggar you are!” he went on, half laughing. “I give up. I must trust myself to you; you are a gentleman, and will respect my secret.” “No, I will of,” I said, sturdily. ‘‘ I’ve promised Miss Dacre to find you and bring you home, and I’d betray any amount of confi- dence sooner than disappoint her.” ‘To find me? How did you know I was alive? What business is it of yours P” I gave him a rapid sketch of her situation, during which, he paced the tiny room uneasily, looking miserably helpless and undecided. *‘'There’s only one thing to be done now,” I concluded. ‘‘ To come away with me to Penderell at once. The longer you delay the worse it will look. Come.” I handed him his hat and he got himself into his coat in a mazy, somnambulistic fashion, and led the way down stairs. I linked my arm in his directly we got outside, and looked about for a cab. None was to be seen, so I walked him briskly along the water-side path to the bridge. We had to cross a disused, shabby little wharf, green and rotting. I felt him wince. ‘How were you saved?” I asked, in a casual tone. ‘ We all know how you got in, but why didn’t you drown.” “T couldn’t make up my mind to it,” he replied, frankly enough. “T went in as resolutely as anybody; but the water was cold and smelt of drainage. Staying in it was not to be thought of, so Iswam up to a barge, got put on shore and made my way to my old nurse's. She married a warehouseman, and lived near here. I thought noone need ever know of my performance, and then suddenly recollected the letters I had left in my room, soI bolted up to the barracks forth- with. I found that my things had all been overhauled and the letters taken. ‘Then I came across my servant, who called upon all the saints ‘to stand between us,’ and ran; sol thought as I was supposed to be dead, to let it rest so, for a few days at least. I did hang about and try to catch Loxdale. If I could have seen him, and talked it over, it would have been all right. Then I found the police were after me. My poor old nurse got in an awful panic, made me lie close and disguise myself with cropped hair and black eyebrows for days ; till the regiment left, in fact; and then came the question, what to do next ?” *Wouldn’t your uncle have helped you?” I asked, more to keep EONNIE OO KS (EO) m