Beadle's Dime Library No. 103 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

12 ‘‘ It is, sir: if I go with Lieutenant Sebastian it will be by force,” replied the maiden. ‘*And you, Miss Sebastian, what is your choice?” and Merle turned to Estelle. ‘* 1 will remain here,” and the maiden cast an- other glance sky ward. Merle turned smilingly to the discomfited of- ficer. ‘You hear, sir: you will have to leave the dadies under my protection.” ** Never a Again did Sebastian throw his arm around the waist of Mildred Monteith, as though to drag her into the barge. Without a word Merle disengaged his grasp, seized him in his powerful arms, and, to the surprise of all, not wn wee the furious officer, who saw this wonderful exhibition of strength, tossed hira bodily into the barge, while, with a stern order to Dave and the coxswain to let her go, for they were bolding the two boats togeth- er, he shoved the two apart with one stroke of his foot. ** Now, Dave, up with that anchor, and we'll run for the shore,” said Merle, quietly, unmind- ful of the fierce oath that arose to the lips of Wilber Sebastian. Like the very wind the swift boat flew land- ward, and just at dark landed at the Grenville pier, where they were met by Captain Gren- ville, who had seen their approach from the piazza of the mansion. ‘‘ My poor, foolhardy brother! I fear harm will befall him, sir,” and Estelle pointed to the coming storm, Merle’s answer was a shrug of the shoulders; not a very polite response but a very suggestive one. ‘‘See, sir, the storm is sweeping down upon him; will you, who are so brave and skillful, not go to his aid?” It was Mildred Monteith that spoke, and she jaid her tiny hand upon his arm, as she turned her beautiful eyes upon him. “The barge does seem in danger. Come, Dave, we will see if we can save them,” said Merle, quietly, and springing into his boat again he continued: “The captain will see you te the mansion, ladies.” Casting off from the pier, he hauled dead upon the wind, and stood out into the darkness and storm, watched by the group upon the land until the gloom hid his little craft from view. CHAPTER XV. THE SKELETON BURIED. It was with a little fear and trembling that Estelle Sebastian crossed the threshold of the elegant home of Grenville Grange, as between her blood and the Grenvilles there had been only enmity, for the maiden’s mother had been a Darrington, a sister of Colonel Ferd Darring- a who had fallen by the hand of Lance Gren- ville. True, on shipboard, her brother and Arthur Grenville had ever been on intimate terms, if not friends, and all had ho that the vendetta between the two names been. buried in the grave with Ferdinand Darrington, and that the grinning skeleton of the past would never be exhumed again. Still she could not refrain from aslight shiver, as she stepped into the hallway. ‘* Welcome to Grenville Grange, young la- dies,” said Captain Grenville, politely, as he ushered the two maidens into the broad hall- way. cs Be seated, please, and I will order you a lass of wine to warm you up, and will then rive you home in my carriage, for I believe, Miss Sebastian, that you are now living at Dar- rin Lodge?” ‘Yes, sir; my brother and myself inherited it from uncle Ferd, but we only lately decided to make it our home; it is a age old place.” ‘* It is, indeed, and I am glad to see you have added a number of Ss “gr” Seamer the place has too long been dese . Permit me?’ and Ar. thur Grenville filled several glasses of wine and offered them to his fair guests. ‘* he is at the door, sah,” and the old negro butler appeared with a stately bow. ‘* With your permission, Captain Grenville, we will remain until the boats return, and I know that my brother is safe,” said Estelle Se- anxiously. “ Assuredly, Miss Sebastian; I only ordered the carriage, thinking you might catch cold, if you did not drive home and change your cloth- ing for, being bachelors, neither Merle or my- ri f have any adies’ wardrobe to place at your ** Thank you, sir; but we will risk the cold— Ob, hark! how savagely the wind blows! It must be fearful upon the water,” and Mildred Monteith walked to the window and leaned her beautiful but now pale face against the pane. ‘Tf you will allow me to offer a —eeeeen, young ladies, I will say that I can send the car- riage over to tp Lodge after your maid, Miss Sebastian, with orders to return at once with all necessary clothing you may desire, and you can remain my guests for the night, as the storm seems likely to continue for some time.” The offer of Captain Grenville was at once | Merle, The Mutineer. acted upon, and the carriage rolled away upon its errand, while the maidens and their host gathered in front of the windows that looked seaward, and tried to pierce the darkness and the storm, all of them far more uneasy than they would admit. ‘Captain Grenville, who is the gentleman who saved our lives this afternoon?” It was Mildred Monteith that asked the ques- tion; Mildred Monteith, the heiress to vast wealth, the belle and the beauty, and the most intimate friend of Estelle Sebastian, whom she had accompanied to Darrington Lodge for a visit of several months. ‘That young gentleman, Miss Monteith, is Merle Grenville, my protege, and adopted son. He is as true as steel, utterly fearless, a perfect seaman, and all else that is noble,” said Arthur Grenville, with considerable enthusiasm in his tone and manner. ‘* Was he not picked up at sea some time ago, sir?” asked Estelle Sebastian. ‘* He was picked up at sea by Captain Free- lance, and—” ‘* Freelance the Buccaneer, that terrible ocean scourage?” ‘*Yes, Miss Sebastian; he was found adrift in a boat, by Freelance the Buccaneer, and, al- most dead with exposure and starvation, he was nursed back to life, and made by the chief one of his officers.” ‘A pirate officer?” and Estelle’s brows arched prettily. ‘* Yes, Miss Sebastian, per force of circum- stances, a pirate officer; but one who saved my life, and nearly lost his own for the act; ay, and one who, alone, captured the crew of the buccaneer schooner and surrendered them to me.’ ‘*Did he surrender the man who had nursed him back to life?” It was Mildred who made the inquiry, and she seemed interested in the answer. ‘* No, he would be incapable of such an act: for his protection of me, the crew turned against him, and would have hung him, but for the interference of Captain Freelance, who lost his life in defending his protege, and Merle was seized and hung tothe yard-arm; buta stroke of lightning miraculously saved him from death, and the horrified buccaneers rushed in terror into the cabin, and thus fell a prey to the presence of mind and prompt action of the bo they would have murdered; since then Merle has lived here with me, and here I hope he will ever make his home.” ‘‘ Was nothing known of his antecedents, be- fore being picked up at sea?” ‘* He was stolen from his home in early life, and has been a sailor almost since his infancy; he comes of a good family, but his parents be- ing dead, he prefers me to other kindred he has ae “s ‘‘Thank you, Captain Grenville; what a life of thrilling romance your adopted son has had,” said Mildred, and as she spoke heavy steps were heard upon the gravel approach to the house. The maidens turned deadly pale, and sunk down into convenient chairs—what news would they hear?” earoaky less pale, but perfectly calm, Cap- tain Grenville went to the door and met there several forms. ‘** Miss Sebastian, your brother is safe!” called out the captain. ‘* And Mr. Grenville?” The question came from the lips of both maidens. ‘‘ Also safe,” and Captain Grenville entered = room, followed by Wilber Sebastian and erle. ‘“ Thank God!” and Estelle threw herself into her brother’s arms. It was a joyous meeting, for all had dreaded the worst, and then Merle was warmly greeted by both maidens, and thanked most sincerely for their lives. ‘Twice lowe him my life, and here, before all, I wish to humbly ask him to forgive and forget my conduct this afternoon,” and Wilber Sebastian held forth his pene which Merle warmly grasped, saying, quietly: “It ts forgiven aud orgotten, Lieutenant Se- bastian; I am only sorry I did not arrive in time to save all.” ‘* All!” and a cloud swept over their joy. ‘‘-Yes, I went over ere Mr. Grenville reached me, the barge is as cranky as a canoe, and the coxswain and one of the seamen were washed away and drowned,” said Wilber Sebastian, in rather an indifferent tone, when his own fool- hardiness had been the cause of the loss of two fellow-beings. “T cruised about for them, sir, for half an hour, but could find nothing of them, and the sea getting too rough for my boat I put in,” ex- plained Merle. “Tt is too bad, indeed; have but met a sailor’s fate; po ay and you can now have dry clothing, while 1 can supply Lieutenant Sebastian from my wardrobe. As soon as you have made your toilets, come down and we will have a hot sup- per for you, for remember, you are my guest, as long as you will honor me with your com- pany. r fellows, they ut here comes the i From that night, the grass no longer grew upon the path between Grenville Grange and Darrington Lodge; it had been better for all had those, in whose veins flowed the Grenville and Darrington blood, never joined hand in friend- ship, across the graves of their kindred—better if the grim skeleton of the past had remained in the closet of each mansion, and not been dragged away toa temporary burial. CHAPTER XVI. FOR THE LOVE OF HATE. THE relation that Mildred Monteith held to Estelle Sebastian was that of friend. They had been schoolmates at a fashionable boarding- school for five peare, and, as school-girls often will, Estelle had made up her mind that Mildred and her brother Wilber should marry. At heart Estelle had good traits, yet she was somewhat haughty in manner, and certainly a little selfish, and could see no fault in the hand- some Wilber. The two were orpbans, and her brother had been her guardian, since the death of their fath- er, when Wilber was eighteen, it was supposed that the two were left rich by their father; but there had been lavish ex- travagance somewhere, and when the debts were paid, a house in New Orleans, and a few thou- sand dollars in bank, were the sum total of their inheritance, excepting the plantation home of Darrington Lodge, left them by their uncle. The Darrington slaves had gone to pay the debts of the dead colonel, ond, the Lodge had gradually gone to ruin, until Wilber proposed that their town-house should be sold, and the plantation fitted up for their home, and Estelle gladly consented, and with their furniture and effects, and the dozen slaves they owned, the —— and sister removed to the Darrington ge. Accompanying them was Mildred Monteith, the little beauty and heiress, who had been left an orphan when a mere child, and turned over to the guardianship of an old friend of her fatb- er, who allowed her to do pretty much as she leased, for he was a bachelor and cared little for the society of the fair sex. Hence, when he attended punowsanaly to send- ing her the monthly income allowed her, and looking after her very large estate, he consider- ed that be did his duty toward his ward, and readily gave his consent for her to go with Es- telle for a few months. ‘*The country is a good place for girls. All is should live in the country; ’twould keep em out of mischief; towns were made for men,” he said, and so he believed. Now, though Estelle really loved Mildred greatly, there was a little plot in her heart against her, and this was to throw her into the society of Wilber, whom, except on several oc- casions before, the maiden had never met, It would be such a nice thing if Estelle could make a match between them. ld get such a handsome, splendid husband, and Wilber would get such a lovely wife and—large fortune. Blind to the plot, Mildred went to Darrington Lodge, and all seemed in a fair way to turn out as Estelle had planned, for Wilber, aiding and abetting his sister in her plans, had not given vent to his violent temper the week that they had been in the country, or shown the heiress one of his weak points. But the afternoon of the storm Wilber had forgotten himself; he was pe 57 aon of restraint, detested advice, and proud of his sea knowledge, he cared not to be told what to do, and hence he broke forth in angry reply to Merle when hail- ed by him. Merle he had not liked when he had met him two years before, on the frigate. Why he did not know, yet certain it was he disliked Lim. After the scene on the boat, and the return of Merle to his aid, although he knew that the youth had a second time saved his life, he was not thankful to him, but on the contrary hated him, for the obligation he placed him under; but he felt that it was his duty to make amends for his past conduct, and had frankly acknowledged his error in public, and begged pardon for the offense. This act placed him once more in the good graces of Mildred Monteith, who really very much liked the handsome young seaman. After the night spent at Grenville Grange, a friendly intimacy sprung up between the in- mates of the two plantations, and many were the drives and sails that the young ple en- joyed together, until rumor sai t there | would be a double wedding at Darrington Lodge: but then Madame Rumor was not altogether right, for Merle was not, as was supposed, the Fete oe admirer of Estelle Sebastian, but of Mildred Monteith. True, Estelle greatly admired the handsome waif, and had he not seemed to care for Mil- dred, might have loved him: but, as matters stood, it disarranged her plot, for her friend was destined as her brother’s bride, and such she should be; upon this two persons were deter- mined, and those two were the brother and At length the visit of Mildred Monteith drew to an end, and she carried home with her the EOE OOO KS (E(@) Y