The Trevor Family;*

Esquire Faxon waited a week with patience , until the surgeon announced that Crawley could be seen . " He will linger along , perhaps for months , " said that gentleman , " but he will be sightless and will never again be able to stand . " And when the sig htless sufferer was told that Esquire Faxon and Frank G-lyndon were presentand wished to converse with himhe eagerly requested

, , all but them to leave the room . And then he proceeded in distinct , though feeble tones , to tell of the great wrong he had perpetrated against the heirs of Harmon Trevor , and now , as one wdio must soon appear before his Maker , would not they arrange with the family that he should at once make over all of his possessions to the one woman wdioni he loved , retaining but enough to pay his expenses during the brief remainder of his life , and bury him decently ?

All bitterness disappeared from the hearts of both listeners as they stood iu . that presence , and saw those rightless eyeballs turned pleadingly toward them . They felt that the one redeeming trait in Joel Crawley ' s character had been his love for the pure-minded and beautiful girl , and they could not help but respect this exhibition of devotion to his idol . For her sake he pleaded that there might be no exposure , and when he received the solemn assurance of the

two friends that all should be as he wished , he shed tears of gratitude from eyes all unused to weeping . And when , a week after , the property was duly transferred to Miss Rose and a letter from her had been read to him , assuring him that each morning and evening she prayed God to forgive him , he sent her the assurance that he had found peace in believing , and was waiting for the final summons . Three months after Joel Crawley was borne to his last resting-place , and the world knew not that a terrible stain rested on his name .

CHAPTER X . IT was just after the transfer , however , that Esquire Faxon called one morning on Mrs . ' Trevor , in regard to some matters of business . These having been discussed , the widow said : " And Esquire . I owe you and Mr . Glyndon not only a debt of gratitude that I can never repaybut I ow e you also for your time and services , wdiich I

, can pay . " " Our joint expense , madam , w ere about two hundred dollars , which is all w e ask , and all we shall receive . We undertook this work unsolicited by you , and have no legal claim . As to the debt of gratitude , I will forego my share in that . Doubtless you can repay my young friend Glyndon in full by permitting him to address your daughter as a suitor for her heart

and hand !" " Esquire Faxon , your remark p laces me in a strange strait . I owe much to Mr . Glyndon . He is a young man of unexceptional morals , good family and fine prospects , but I am under a solemn pledge to myself to never consent to my daughter ' s marrying any member of an oath-bound organisation . As I have said before , if this be a prejudice , I imbibed it in my girlhood , and it has

grown with my growth and strengthened with my strength . " "Mrs . Trevor , " said the esquire , " you will pardon me for saying that prejudices against secret associations are generally strongest with those who know the least of them . Your father was a member of a church that bitterly denounces all secret orders . But I shall surprise you when I inform you , as I now feel compelled to cloin what I believe to be the best interests of Miss

, Rose , and for her happiness in life and yours , that your husband was not only a Mason , but held the Order in the hig hest esteem . At the time of his death he was Master of his Lodge at the county seat . We should ordinarily have asked the privilege of burying him with Masonic honours , but it was no time