For Woman's Love Part- 2 by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth (i love reading books txt) 📕

Then They Went Down Together,  Crossed The Grounds,  And Entered The

Great Hall,  Which Was Densely Crowded. Good Seats Had Been Reserved For

Them,  And They Found Themselves Seated Next The Dean Of Olivet On Cora's

Right And The Wall Street Broker On Mr. Rockharrt's Left.

I Do Not Mean To Trouble My Readers With Any Description Of This By-Gone

Exhibition. They Can Read A Full Account Of Such Every Season In Every

Morning Paper. Merely To Say That It Was Late In The Afternoon When The

Exercises Were Over For The Day.

Mr. Rockharrt And Cora Rothsay Returned To The Hotel To A Very Late

Dinner.

The First Question That The Iron King Asked Was Whether Any Telegram Had

Come For Him. He Was Told That There Was None.

"It Is Very Strange. She Could Not Have Received Mine," He Said,  And He

Went Directly To The Telegraph Office Of The Hotel And Dispatched A Long

Message To The Clerk Of The Blank House,  Telling Him Of How Mrs.

Stillwater Had Been Separated From Her Party By The Pressure Of The

Crowd,  And How She Had Thereby Missed Their Train,  And Inquiring Whether

She Had Returned To The Hotel,  Whether She Had Got His Message,  And If

She Were Well. Any News Of Her,  Or From Her,  Was Anxiously Expected By

Her Friends.

Having Sent Off This Dispatch,  Mr. Rockharrt Went In To Dinner. The

Dinner Was Long. The Courses Were Many. Mr. Rockharrt And His

Granddaughter Were Still At Table When The Following Telegram Was Placed

In His Hands:

    Blank House,  New York,  May,  18--

    Mrs. Stillwater Is Not Here,  And Has Not Been Seen By Any Of Our

    People Since She Left The House With Your Party For The Hudson

    River Railway Depot. We Have Made Inquiries,  But Have No News.

    M. Martin.

"This Is Intolerable," Muttered Old Aaron Rockharrt,  In A Tone As Who

Should Say: "How Dare Fate Set Herself To Baffle Me?"

He Then Took Tablets And Pencil From His Pocket And Wrote The Following

Telegram:

    Cozzens Hotel,  West Point,

    May ----,  18--

    To M. Martin,  Esq.,  Blank House,  New York City:

    Just Received Your Dispatch. There Has Been Foul Play. Report The

    Case At Police Headquarters. Set Private Detective On The Track Of

    The Missing Lady. Last Seen At The Gate Of The Hudson River

    Railway Depot,  Waiting For 7:30 A.M. Train For West Point

    Yesterday Morning,  But Not Seen On Train. Give Me Prompt Notice Of

    Any News.

    Aaron Rockharrt.

He Beckoned A Waiter And Sent The Message To Be Dispatched From The

Office Of The Hotel.

Then He Set Himself To Finish His Dinner.

After Dinner He Went Out On The Piazza.

Cora Followed Him. There Was Quite A Number Of People Out There,  Seeing

Whom,  He Walked Out Upon The Open Grounds.

"May I Come With You,  Grandfather?" Inquired Cora.

"If You Like," Was The Short Answer.

As They Walked On He Said:

"I Think It Possible That Mrs. Stillwater,  After Missing Our Train,  Left

For North End."

"Yes,  It Is Possible," Assented Cora.

No More Was Said. They Walked On For Half An Hour And Then Returned To

The Hotel And Bade Each Other Good Night.

The Next Morning They Met In The Parlor.

Old Aaron Rockharrt Was Reading A New York Morning Paper. Cora Went Up

And Bade Him Good Morning.

He Merely Nodded And Went On Reading. Presently He Burst Out With:

"By ----! This Must Be Mrs. Stillwater!"

"Who? What?" Eagerly Inquired Cora,  Going To His Side.

"Here! Read!" Exclaimed The Iron King,  Handing Her The Sheet And

Pointing Out The Paragraph.

Cora Took The Paper With Trembling Hands And Read As Follows:

    "A Mystery.--Yesterday Morning At Six O'clock An Unknown

    Young Woman Of About Twenty-Five Or Thirty Years Of Age,  Of Medium

    Height,  Plump Form,  Fair Complexion And Yellow Hair,  Clothed In A

    Rich Suit Of Widow's Mourning,  Was Found In A State Of Coma In The

    Ladies' Dressing Room Of The Hudson River Railway Station. She Was

    Taken To St. L----'S Hospital. There Was Nothing On Her Person To

    Reveal Her Name Or Address."

"That Must Have Been Mrs. Stillwater," Said Old Aaron Rockharrt.

"I Think There Is No Question Of It," Replied Cora.

"No Doubt The Poor Child Was Suddenly Seized With One Of Her Terrible

Neuralgic Headaches,  Caused By The Pressure Of That Infernal Crowd At

The Gate,  And She Stole Away,  As Before,  Lest She Should Disturb Us And

Prevent Our Journey; The Most Self-Sacrificing Creature I Ever Met. No

Doubt She Meant To Telegraph To Us,  But Was Prevented By The Sudden

Reaction From Agony To Stupor. Ah! I Hope It Is Not A Fatal Stupor."

"I Hope Not,  Sir."

"Cora!"

"Yes,  Sir."

"We Must Leave For New York By The Next Train. If Sylvanus Is Not Free

To Go With Us,  He Can Follow Us. Come,  Let Us Go Down And Get Some

Breakfast."

Cora Arose And Went With Her Grandfather Down To The Breakfast Room.

When They Had Taken Their Places At One Of The Tables And Given Their

Orders To One Of The Waiters,  Old Aaron Rockharrt Drew A Time Table From

His Pocket And Consulted It.

"There Is A Down Train Stops At Garrison's At 10:50. We Will Take That."

As Soon As They Had Breakfasted,  And As They Were Leaving The Table,

Another Telegram Was Handed To Mr. Rockharrt. He Opened It And Read As

Follows:

    Blank House,  New York,  May ----,  18--

    The Missing Lady Is In St. L----'S Hospital.

    M. Martin.

"It Is True,  Then! True As We Surmised. Mrs. Stillwater Was The Unknown

Lady Found Unconscious In The Dressing Room Of The Hudson River Railroad

And Taken To St. L----'S. Cora!"

"Yes,  Sir."

"Go And Pack Our Effects Immedately. I Will Go Down And Settle The Bill

And Leave A Letter Of Explanation For Sylvanus. Get Your Bonnet On And

Be Ready. The Carriage Will Be At The Door In Twenty Minutes."

Cora Hurried Off To Her Room And To Her Grandfather's Room,  Which

Adjoined Hers,  To Prepare For The Sudden Journey. She Quickly Packed And

Labeled Their Traveling Bags,  And Rang For A Porter To Take Them Down

Stairs.

Then She Put On Her Bonnet And Duster And Went Down And Joined Her

Grandfather In The Parlor.

"Come," He Said,  "The Carriage Is At The Door And Our Traps On The Box.

I Have Written To Sylvanus,  Telling Him To Join Us At The Blank House,

Where We Will Wait For Him."

He Turned Abruptly And Went Out,  Followed By Cora.

They Entered The Waiting Carriage And Were Rapidly Driven Down To The

Ferry.

The Boat Was At The Wharf. They Alighted From The Carriage And Went On

Board.

Old Aaron Rockharrt's Hot Haste Did Not Avail Them Much. The Boat

Remained At The Wharf For Ten Minutes,  During Which The Iron King

Secretly Fumed And Fretted.

"Does This Boat Connect With The 10:50 Train For New York?" He Inquired.

"Yes,  Sir," Was The Answer.

"Then You Will Miss It."

"Oh,  No,  Sir."

The Five Remaining Minutes Seemed Hours,  But They Passed At Length And

The Boat Left The Shore,  And Old Aaron Rockharrt Walked Up And Down The

Deck Impatiently.

As They Neared The Other Side The Whistle Of A Down Train Was Heard

Approaching.

"There! I Said You Would Miss It!" Exclaimed The Iron King.

"That Train Does Not Stop Here,  Sir," Was The Good Humored Answer.

The Boat Touched The Wharf At Garrison's,  And The Passengers Got Off.

Old Aaron Rockharrt Led His Granddaughter Up To The Platform To Wait For

The Train; But No Train Was In Sight Or Hearing.

Mr. Rockharrt Looked At His Watch.

"After All,  We Have Seven Minutes To Wait," He Growled,  As If Time And

Tide Were Much In Fault At Not Being At His Beck And Call.

"Had We Not Better Go Into The Waiting Room?" Suggested Cora.

"No,  We Will Stand Here," Replied The Iron King,  Who On General

Principles Never Acted Upon A Suggestion.

So There They Stood--The Old Man Growling At Intervals As He Looked Up

The Road; Cora Gazing Out Upon The Fine Scenery Of River And Mountain.

Presently The Whirr Of The Coming Train Was Heard. In A Minute More It

Rushed Into The Station And Stopped. There Were No Other Down Passengers

Except Mr. Rockharrt And Mrs. Rothsay.

He Handed Her Up,  And Took Her To A Seat. The Car Was Not Half Full. The

Tide Of Travel Was Northward,  Not Southward At This Season.

They Were Scarcely Seated When The Train Started Again. They Reached New

York Just Before Noon.

"Carriage,  Sir? Carriage,  Ma'am? Carriage? Carriage? Carriage?" Screamed

A Score Of Hackmen's Voices,  As The Passengers Came Out