Private House and Office "Kent Paid in
Groceritjs Taken
FROM SOLDIERS HOME AT MILFORD
Old Soldiers Crowded Out to Mnko lloora
for Itcliillvcs uiul Friends of OfllcInU
lloxr State Fund * Arc Uselessly Squan
dered by I'opullst Oniclals.
Without a doubt the most open and
flagrant corruption practiced in any
of the state institutions is practiced
at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at
Milford.
Officials of the Home have gone so
far as to appropriate public property to
their private use ; as to pay private
bills , such as house and office rent ,
with groceries and provisions bought
with state funds ; as to dispose of pub
lic property and not properly account
for the same ; as to purchase clothing
and fancy furnishing goods for rela
tives and have them put on the books
as groceries and pay for them out of
moneys belonging to the state ; and as
to fill the building with relatives and
friends and furnish them with bed ,
board and lodging at the expense of
the state. In short , there is scarcely
an offense associated with the saving
and obtaining of money fraudulently
that has not been committed by some
one or another connected with the
Home.
James Fowler succeeded Captain Cul
ver as commandant of the Home about
four years ago. From the time he
assumed control up to the present he
has kept both hands on the public
teat. After getting his own name on
the pay roll at $900 per year , with
bed and board , he set out to have his
wife's name placed there also , and he
finally succeeded in causing the re
moval of Matron Ferguson and the
appointment of his wife , who is now
on the pay roll as matron at $480 per
year , though at this time there is not
a female ward in the building.
Though drawing $40 per month for
performing the duties of matron , Mrs.
Fowler , wife of the commandant , has
spent a goodly portion of her time
visiting relatives and friends in other
parts of the state. At one time she
left the Home and was gone for several
weeks , while the only female inmate of
the Home , Sarah Prime , the aged and
helpless widow of an old soldier , lay
on her sick bed and had to be at
tended by the old soldier inmates. Mrs.
Fowler remained away , and , finally ,
feeble , sick and penniless , poor -old
Sarah Prime was hauled to the depot
and left on the platform with only
$3 in her possession and no place to
go or lay her head.
A FAMILY AFFAIR.
Nor did Commandant Fowler con
tent himself with placing his wife's
name on the pay roll. He went fur
ther and converted the Home into a
family boarding house. At various
times he has had himself , his wife ,
his two sons and their wives , his two
daughters , and a grand child , all sleep
ing and eating at the Home-at the ex
pense of the state. Half of the entire
second story is occupied by the com
mandant and his relatives and friends.
It is charged , and , presumably on
good authority , that fancy linen , laces
and material for female nether ap
parel have been purchased for the
daughters and daughters-in-law of a
certain official at the expense of the
state. In making these purchases , ru
mor says that the bills and vouchers
were made out for groceries , provisions
or other material , so as to cover up
the transaction. The fact that the
commandant has purchased oysters
and other eatables of a luxurious char
acter and had the bills and vouchers
made out as butter and other staples
in the grocery and provision line is
a fact which he himslf can not truth
fully deny. Nor is it likely that he
will or dare deny that he has per
mitted Dr. Tracy , the physician in
charge at the Home , to take flour ,
sugar , coffee and canned goods from
the store room of the Home goods
paid for by the state and ostensibly
bought for the Home , and pay house
and office rent with them.
RENT PAID IN GROCERIES.
The physician in charge at the Home
is Dr. S. P. Tracy. Shortly after Fowler
ler was appointed commandant he is
sued rations to Dr. Tracy , something
which had never before been done , and
which is clearly in violation of law.
This was kept up for some time un
til finally , to avoid threatened expos
ure , it was to all outward appear
ances stopped by order of the Board of
Public Lands and Buildings.
It was a sad day for Tracy when this
edict was promulgated. For Dr. Tracy
had a very nice thing of it. He not
only received rations , but he had ac
cess to the store room , with the op
portunity of helping himself. It was
while this condition of affairs pre
vailed that he hit upon the plan of
paying his house and office rent in
groceries and provisions.
He rented an office from an aged
widow named Diantha Brown. When
asked if it were true that Dr. Tracy
paid his rent in groceries , Mrs. Brown
said :
"Yes , Dr. Tracy , on divers occasions ,
brought mo flour , sugar , canned goods ,
tea and the like. He told me he got
the articles from the Soldiers' Home.
I asked him to give me some coal ,
but he said he could not do it , as they
did not give him much of that. I
think the last groceries he gave me
was in 1898. He moved out of my
building owing me $50 back rent , and
I have his note for $50 at this time for
rent , which he owes , only $10 of which
has been paid. I don't remember just
how much groceries he gave me in all.
I remember at one time he brought
me a whole sack of flour. "
Mrs. Brown is a widow and is 83
years of age. She is an old citizen of
Milford and has a large number of
relatives residing in that vicinity , all
of whom stand high in public esteem.
Dr. Tracy has for six years occupied
a house owned by J. D. Cunningham.
Mr. Cunningham was asked as to
whether Dr. Tracy ever paid any portion
tion of his rent in groceries or pro
visions. He said :
"Yes , I have received some of the
rent'in that way. He has given me
flour , grocerle * and canned goods. I
cannot'say just how much it all
amounted to. He is owing me back
rent now , but I have reduced his rent
and have required him to pay part of
the back rent each month , so that he
is catching up. As for groceries , I
cannot say where he got them. All
I know is that he brought them to my
house and gave them to me in pay
ment of rent. "
An old soldier who was formerly
connected with the home , in such a
position as to speak authoritatively ,
and whose name is not mentioned
herein , through fear of his expulsion
from the Home , stated that he had
seen Dr. Tracy go to the store room ,
unlock'the "door and go in and help
himself. He had a key and was priv
ileged to take what he wanted. On one
occasion , this authority states , he took ,
among other things , a whole sack of
sugar.
Dr. Tracy has his horse pastured at
the expense of the state , but whether
he is still receiving an allowance of
rations , nobody outside the Home ap
pears to know to a certainty.
Dr. Tracy has considerable profes
sional practice outside the Home , but
the druggists of the town say that he
has very few private prescriptions
filled by them. This may explain in
part the depletion of the 'drug and
surgical instrument" fund of the
Home , in face of the fact that there
has been little sickness at the Home
within the last eighteen months.
MANIPULATING THE FUNDS.
The manner in which the funds are
being manipulated aproaches and re
flects criminality. The last legislature
appropriated for the Home $37,474.
Of this , $500 was for furniture and
bedding. This fund is practically ex
hausted , and the vouchers that should
be drawn against it and against no
other fund , have been drawn against
other funds. In one instance a vouch
er for nearly $40 was drawn on the
"clothing and maintenance" fund for
carpets , fringe and window shades.
Of the funds received from sale of
state property , such as stock and prod
ucts raised on the grounds of the
Home , timber cut and sold , and the
pasturing of stock , little is known of
their disposition. None of this money
has ever been paid into the treasury ,
and no report of it has ever been made
to the auditor. It is kept by the com
mandant for "emergency" purposes ,
though the receipts amount to more
than $300 per year. The commandant
reports the amount of money received
to the governor semi-annually. The re
port for the first half of the present
year should have been filed with the
governor June 1st , but up to July 27
no report was on file. Inquiry at the
governor's office elicited the Informa
tion that "The report had been offered
for filing , but it contained errors and
was sent back for correction. "
About $1,500 worth of timber was
cut from the grounds several months
ago. Much of it was sold , but thus
far no complete report has been made
of it. About a dozen head of cattle
and horses have been pastured at the
Home all spring and summer , but there
is nothing in the reports on file which
account for any part of this money.
In the last year fully 200 chickens were
disposed of In one way and another ,
yet the reports account for less than
half that number. Other property has
passed through the hands of the offi
cials , but neither the records at the
Home nor the reports on file with the
governor , disclose what has been done
with the proceeds.
In cutting the timber much damage
was done the ground from a pictur
esque point of view , and , while the
commandant affected to make it appear
that the foliage was not destroyed
through ulterior motives , there is ev
ery reason to believe that the primary
object was to swell the "emergency"
fund.
The "labor" fund is exhausted , the
employes not having received any pay
since June 1st , thus making a large
deficiency in this fund inevitable. June
30 there remains in the Furniture and
Bedding Fund only $8.72 ; in the Drug
and Surgical Instrument Fund only
$29.75 ; in the Fuel and Light Fund.
$251.10 ; Maintenance and Clothing ,
for which $8,000 was appropriated ,
$2,068 ; Stock , Feed and Farm Imple
ment Fund , $63.13 ; Visiting and Ex
amining Board Fund , $81.80.
It will be seen by the foregoing
that there is scarcely a fund whose
condition is not such at this time as
to foreshadow a deficiency at the end
of the year.
In connection with this it may be
well to call attention to the fact that ,
while the law requires Commandant
Fowler , among other things , to make
a report December 1st , of each year
to the Commissioner of Public Lands
and Buildings , setting forth the num
ber of inmates admitted and dis
charged , receipts , disbursements and
expenditures of money or other funds
( see section 4964 Revised Statutes ,
1899) ) , he has never in the four years
of his incumbency made such a re
port. This statement is made on the
authority of attaches of the department
of Public Lands and Buildings.
OPENLY VIOLATING THE LAW. -
There is at the Home , a young man
who has only recently crossed the
threshold of his majority. His name
is J. H. Perkinson , and he occupies
the important position of adjutant.
The law distinctly and explicitly
says that : "The commandant shall
perform the duties of adjutant and
quartermaster , or have these duties
performed without expense to the
state" ( see Sec. 4968 Revised Statutes ,
1899) , yet J. H. Perkinson is adjutant
at the Home and draws a salary of
$25 per month and board , washing
and lodging. In the official reports of
the Home and in his official duties he
is known only as adjutant , To evade
the law in making out vouchers for his
pay , however , he is made to appear
as "Commissary Sergeant. " Thus , in
the records at the Home and in the
official reports he is one thing , and in
the voucher record in the auditor's
office he is another. Under neither
title is it lawful for him to draw money
from the state. When Captain Culver
was commandant , under a republican
administration , he had his son perform
the duties of adjutant , but he never
claimed any pay for him and none was
ever allowed.
INHUMAN TREATMENT OF OLD
SOLDIERS.
Reports of inhuman treatment of old
soldiers at the Home are numerous.
Only those who have been there and
left the Home , however , dare utter a
protest. Commandant Fowler rules
with a hand of tyranny , and any one
who dares to complain of treatment re
ceived at the Home , or say anything
reflecting on the management , is under
pain at once of summary discharge
for "disgraceful conduct. "
A few weeks ago an old soldier
named Martin V. BeVard was dishon
orably discharged from the Homo , and
his only offense was that some time
before that he protested to the gov
ernor against an unlawful assessment
that was being levied upon the in
mates by the commandant.
Last year , for six months , the com
mandant levied an assessment of 60
cents per month on all the pensioned
inmates to raise funds for "help" in
the dining room. All told , about $36
per month was collected , there being
about sixty inmates. Out of this fund
four inmate received ? 5 per month
each as waiters in the dining room.
Where the remaining $16 went to no
body but Commandant Fowler appears
to know. Prior to this It was custom
ary to detail inmates for this class of
work , and , to all appearances , it had
been satisfactory. BeVard was one of
those who had th ecourage to protest
against the tax , but this protest count
ed for nothing. Finally , the inmates
raised $1 to pay BeVard's expenses to
Lincoln and he went there and laid
the facts before Governor Poynter.
Governor Poynter was not disposed to
interfere , but when informed by Be
Vard that the matter would be laid
before the authorities at Washington ,
he said he would see that it was
stopped Immediately. From that day
until a few weeks ago , when BeVard
was dishonorably discharged , Fowler
made it anything but pleasant for him.
Finally , a few weeks ago BeVard ,
without any other cause , was dishon
orably discharged and , against his ap
peals to permit him to remain another
week until he got his pension , was
turned out on the world among strang
ers , a penniless and helpless object of
charity. Another old soldier named
Gresham , who has scarcely a crumb of
bread to spare , finding BeVard lying
in the weeds and suffering from a run
ning sore in the leg and moaning from
rheumatic pains , took him in and gave
him something to eat. From the 3rd
to the 10th of July BeVard ate at
Gresham's litle cabin , but , as there
was only one bed and one room , he
had to look elsewhere for lodging.
Poverty-stricken , sick , helpless and
alone the old veteran wandered about
in the night until he found a shed ,
almost in the shadow of the Home ,
where he crawled in and slept. For
seven nights he slept there on the
hard plank floor , with no companion
but the stars and nothing to shield
him from the storms and the elements
but the will of Providence. Exposure
and dampness , both incentives to asth
ma and rheumatic afflictions , had fur
ther impaired his health , and , when
he got his pension and left Milford ,
his suffering was so intense that tears
coursed down his cheeks.
BeVard had a splendid war record ,
having served four years as a Union
soldier , part of the time in the famous
brigade commanded by General Mulli
gan. He enlisted as a private in Bat
tery L , First Regiment , Illinois Volun
teer Light Artillery. For eighty days
he was a prisoner of war in Libby
Prison , having been captured while
gallantly defending a vantage point
known as Four Mile Ford on the Po
tomac. He is well known among the
railroad men of Nebraska , having
worked on the various railroads off
and on for about twenty-eight years.
Speaking of the treatment accorded
old soldiers at the home , William G.
Gresham , a former inmate , said :
"The fact is , Fowler despises the
Grand Army of the Republic. I know
whereof I speak , when I say he hates
old soldiers. I myself , spent some time
at the Home.
"I have taken my discharge twice
from the Home since he has besn j j
there. I tried to put up with the | I
abuses but could not. "
CALLED THEM YANKEE BUM
MERS.
"I have heard Harry Fowler's wife , "
continued Mr. Gresham , "call old sol
diers 'Yankee Bummers' and 'Ya/tkee
Rebels' right to their face. Now , it is
harsh under any conditions to apply
any such names to old soldiers , and
when you consider that she was the
daughter of a notorious confederate ,
who was a lieutenant in Quantrell's
army you can readily realize the mag
nitude of the insult. The old boys
knew who and what she was , but she
was the daughter-in-law of the com
mandant and we had to put up with
her jeers , snubs and insults and say
nothing.
"Now , there is Perkinson. Think
of putting a young man scarcely old
enough to vote in as adjutant where
he exercises authority over a lot of
men three times his age.
"I took my second discharge some
time ago and I hope to be able to make
a living for myself and mother , doing
such work as I can get around town
for the rest of our days. Mother
( meaning his wife ) was discharged
from the Home shortly after I left
because Fowler did not like me. She
is 69 years old and I am 66. She was
there two years , and in that time was
allowed only two calico dresses , worth
about 50 cents each , and two pairs of
cheap shoes , amounting in all to less
than $10. The government allows $25
per year for clothing and shoes for
each inmate , but that is all mother
could get.
"There is no use talking , the Home
is shamefully mismanaged. I , for one ,
have seen the commandant in a condi
tion that convinced me that he was
under the influence of liquor. At one
time I remember he had to be assisted
up the stairs , and I was that near to
him that I detected the odor of whis
key.
key."Then
"Then there is that man Benton , the
steward. He draws $20 per month and
board and lodging , besides money he
makes on the side. He is rich and
owns lots of property , but he is the
steward , though there is no more need
of a steward than there is for two
governors at Lincoln.
"I do not wish to present myself in
the light of an outlaw , but let me
tell you that we were ueing so badly
treated at the Home at one time that
a rope was purchased with a view to
disciplining and making an example
of one or more of the officials. I have
the rope in my house at the present
time. It was not used for that pur
pose , but it came very near being.
"I wish some of the alleged veterans
who are sending out appeals for votes
for fusion could come here and see
what fusion has done for the veterans. "
Mr. Gresham was a member of Com
pany B , Ninetenth Iowa Infantry , and
saw four years' of terrible service ,
having been wounded three times
These are the type of. men Command
ant Fowler's daughter-in-law called
Yankee Rebels. Could any affront be
more wanton and cruel ?
When Fowler came to Milford It is
reported that he wore a Grand Arm >
button in the lapel of his coat. Some
time afterwards it disappeared. When
asked by one of the veterans outside
of the Home where it was , he said :
"I really am not entitled to wear
it. Besides , I am not much of a G. A.
R. man anyhow. "
A BUNGLING JOB.
Within the last year an addition hag
ben built to the Home at a cost of
$5,000. The contract for brick and
stone work was let to a fusion con
tractor at Lincoln , as was also the
contract for plumbing. The brick and
mason work is far short of a first-class
job. Very little cement was used in
the foundation , and the outer layer in
the walls reveals the fact that a very
large number of broken brick and
brick-bats was used in constructing
the building. Much of the brick work
was done by stone masons , presuma
bly because the wages of stone masons
are lower. The construction of the
building was not supervised , and the
contractors followed the plans and
specifications in a way 'to ' suit them
selves. The work was so poorly per
formed that even a thick coat of red
paint fails to thoroughly disguise it.
A fusionist named Blake from Lin
coln had the building contract and he
left the town owing a board bill for
his men at the Grand hotel of $58 , and
labor bills aggregating $75.
LOOSE BUSINESS METHODS.
Loose business methods prevail at
the Home. Not an article delivered
from the stores at the Home is
weighed. Seldom are the goods
checked over to see if the delivery is
in accordance with bills rendered.
In connection with this it is reported
that tobacco is bought at the state's
expense and again sold at the Home.
No positive proof of this could be
found , though there are people who
say that it is true. It has been cus
tomary for certain of the officials to
keep tobacco on sale at the Home , and
rumor has it that some of the tobacco
purchased at the expense of the state
has found its way into such private
sources. Considerable tobacco is used
at the Home. The inmates are al
lowed to smoke in the assembly room
and there only , but the commandant
may be seen at almost any hour going
all through the building puffing smoke
like a six-wheled "mogul" going up
grade. He breaks his own rules with
impunity. If any of the inmates would
dare to atempt to exercise like priv
ileges they would be "dishonorably dis
charged" instanter.
VISITING COMMITTEE.
Perhaps the most palpable fraud on
the taxpayers is the so called "Visit
ing and Examining Board. " This
committee pays a visit to the Home
once a month , ostensibly to audit the
books , but in reality to have a pleasure
trip without cost to themselves. The
members are allowed $4 per day each
and their expenses. One woman from
Lincoln , who is a member of the com
mittee , invariably leaves Lincoln after
supper time and waits until she gets to
the Home before dining. She reaches
there about 8 o'clock in the evening ,
and a sumptuous spread is laid for
her. Her train does not leave Lin
coln until after 6 o'clock , giving her
ample time to have supper , or 6 o'clock
dinner at home before she starts.
Between fraud , loose management
and needless expense , the cost per
capita the last few years at the Home
has been greater by 15 per cent than
formerly. The state would actually
save money by paying the board and
lodging of the veterans at good hotels
and in addition giving them a reason
able allowance for clothing.
SHOULD SUPPRESS FORAGING.
Some steps should be taken to sup
press foraging by fusion officials and
their friends. At the Home , S. A.
Langford and wife are on the pay roll
for doing the laundry work at $22 per
month , board and lodging. This work
was formerly done by inmates. The
change was made to make room for
the Langfords who are populists.
.Three inmates were shifted out of
'their quarters to make room for the
Langfords.
Adjutant Perkinson occupies quar
ters formerly occupied by four in
mates.
It is charged that Superintendent
Edwards has practiced false economy ,
in that she has gone so far as to solicit
prices from firms or business houses
as far away as Chicago , and at the
same time has put the state to the
loss of ten times the amount she
would thus save by keeping relatives
and friends at the Home at the state's
expense. The voucher record at Lin
coln shows a slight jugglery of the
funds of this institution , newspaper
subscription in one instance having
been charged up to the "burial" fund.
One improvement might be made ,
and that is , in puting a stop to the
practice of permitting the steward of
the Soldiers' Home to come to the in
stitution and pose as a minister of the
gospel and collect money from the in
mates for performing that service.
There are ministers of the gospel in
Milford , schooled in Biblical lore , who
would no doubt for the asking cheer
fully perform the service without tax
ing the unfortunate inmates. Upon the
whole , however , the management of
this institution is far better than the
average.
Only recently Mrs. Benton , wife of
the hospital steward , paid a protract
ed visit to the Home. She was , ac
companied by a lady friend from Crete
who also remained at the Home for a
considerable length of time.
Two of Commandant Fowler's daugh
ters , who are attending the State Uni
versity , are now spending their vaca
tion at the Home , where they have
always spent it. Two of his sons .ire
frequently there.
A private dining room is main
tained for these guests and sumptuous
repasts are spread , for all of which the
dear people of Nebraska must step up
to the captain's desk and settle.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS.
There is another state institution at
Milford known as the Industrial School
for Girls. This institution , though
not entirely free from spoliation , is
perhaps less tainted with it than any
other in the state. So far as disci
pline is concerned it is due to Mrs.
Edwards , the superintendent , to say
' \
A Fascinating' '
Romance
by
Alan Adair. , .
CHAPTER VIII. ( Continued. )
Alan looked at her and her pretty
slimness of which he had been sa
proud , at the beautiful , relinrd face , at
the eyes through which her beautiful
soul seemed to shine , and when he-
looked at it and realized what he was
about to lose a great numbness came
over him. He could not speak , he
could scarcely think. It ssemed as if a
huge chasm yawned before them , into
which they were both to be nung. And
so this awful evening went Its way.
They hardly spoke. They sat hand in
hand in the darkness. Lite seemed a
blank. They had come to a standstill.
It was as if death had caught them
with their young blood surging in
their pulses.
At last Alan roused himself. "I must
go to your father , my darling , " he
said. "Joyce , you will let me do every
thing for you ? Darling , you are my
wife , you know , although four years
ago I belonged to another woman. I
will go away from you , and never see
you again whilst Veronica lives ; but
you will live in this house , and let me
work for you. I must have something
in my life , Joyce. Let me think that
there is still something I can do for
you ! "
Joyce was quiet ; then she said :
"There's Veronica's child , Alan. You
should try and be a father to it. Poor
little thing , it would comfort you. "
"If Veronica were dead , " said Alan ,
"I could care for it and cherish it , and
love it ; but neither the child will want
for anything nor its mother. But I
could not take it away from Veronica ,
and -I do not want to come into con
tact with her. I do not hate her , poor
girl ; but I might get to hate her when
I thought of you , Joyce my Joyce ,
and yet not mine. "
He rose slowly and painfully. A
great terror came over Joyce. "You
will see me again , Alan ? This is not
good-by. I could not bear it oh , 1
could not ! Tell me you will come to
me again and kiss me good-by ! Oh ,
I am your wife , Alan ! "
He put his arms round her. She
was half fainting , and her white lips
could hardly articulate the words. " 1
will come again , " he said ; "but to
night I must see your father. Joyce ,
if you are not brave it will kill me.
You must help me , my own sweet wife.
We must pray God to give us strength.
It is the only way. I will bring your
father to you , and then we will try
and say good-by. I will write to you
tonight ; but after that there must be
no more letters , sweetheart. If I con
tinue to write to you I shall go mad.
Most probably I shall go abroad again
when I have got your life into order.
Darling , I scarcely think of the talk
and the publicity that cannot hurt us.
You have many friends who love you ,
and who will be good to you , for you
are the sweetest woman God ever
made. I was right to be afraid of my
great happiness. Good-by , darling. "
And Alan went.
CHAPTER VIII.
Joyce gave way altogether after her
final interview with Alan. She had a
long ulness , which almost terminated
fatally ; but she was young , and had
always been strong. In the end her
youth triumphed , although she made
no efforts to get better. Life was ter
ribly hard. She loved Alan with every
fibre of her being. She had known the
joy of being his wife , and now he was
an outcast from home , miserable ,
wretched , dragging on a joyless exist
ence ; and she had not even the priv
ilege of consoling him. She knew him
to be as unhappy as she was , and she
was suffering all the rest of their lives ,
and Joyce had to learn patience from
that hardest of taskmasters sorrow.
Her father took her abroad. ( ) f
course her story was a nine days' tall-
but she was much beloved , and wr
generally pitied and condoled wit
Alan and she had been so happy , a
had borne themselves so well a
modestly , that there was no one wi :
did not feel for the young coup
whose happiness had been so sudden
destroyed.
But poor Veronica , she went back
her lodgings that night broken-hear
ed. It was not only that she had lost
the hope of life with Alan , but she
could see that she had given him his
death-blow. And he loved another
woman ! She was intensely human ,
was poor Veronica , and the knowledge
that another woman had all his heart
hurt her immeasurably. He did not
love her ! He had never loved her !
But she had the boy. It was some
thing that she could press his cirrly
head against her aching heart , and
drop her tears upon it. Poor 'ittle
Foul ! The only bitter resentment ? ho
had felt against Alan was that he had
failed to notice the boy. But still she
had him he was her own. She wait
ed patiently until she should hear
from Alan. She had waited so long
that a little more or less waiting did
not matter. And he had said ha would
write he was certainly a man to be
trusted.
And on the third day a letter eanie.
Veronica could not guess v.-hat it had
cost Alan to write it. He did not want
to be harsh and cruel towards the af
fectionate creature , whose only fault
had been that she had not been drown
ed in the shipwreck , and yet he felt it
difficult to be kind to her who had
spoilt his life. He wrote that hence
forth she and the boy would be his
care , that he wished to allow her and
her boy enough to HVP in comfort ; bu1-
that he could not bring himself to
come and see her. He told her that
he was parted from Joyce , who wan
now hovering between life and death ,
and that he would not burJen her with
the sight of his unhapplness. Ho
would always be glad if she wrote to
him in any time of trouble or diill-
culty , to give his advice and help ; but
that most probably he should leave
England. He told her that if she fol
lowed his advice she would remain In
England , which was a safe place for
her to live in. Besides , he would
rather that the boy was brought up as
an Englishman. There was a lot of
tiresome law business to be gone
through. His marriage with Joyce had
.o be annulled , and the old general
would not allow him to provide at all
for his daughter.
Joyce felt keenly the difficulties of
her position , but most of all she felt
the separation from Alan.
Alan was seated In his office one day
when he heard a heavy step on the
stair. It was his old enemy Ilutchln-
son. He was half drunk , but sober
enough to want to pick a quarrel. His
schemes had been baffled by the idiotic
straightforwardness of a man who preferred
"
ferred honor to love. Naturally
enough Ilutchinson could Impose no
hush-money on a man who would con
sent to hush up nothing , but who pat
away the woman who was dearer to
him than life rather than fail in do
ing what was right. But Hutchinson ,
baffled at every turn , still had his re
venge. He meant in 'the ' end to b
even with Alan , let it cost him what it
might. He came today to gloat over
his enemy's misery. Some one had told
him that Alan's hair had turned grey ,
and he wanted to see for himself.
But Alan was just in a fit mood. He
remembered as soon as he saw tno
man that he might have saved Joyce
the crowning misery of marriage with
one from whom she had been obliged
to be separated , that he had deliber
ately done his best to ruin her. and
Alan's wrath burned hot within him.
He sprang up from his desk as soon
as he saw Hutchinson , and caught
hold of him. He gave him a little
shake , and , looking him straight in
the face , said : "You dog ! why did you
not tell me that Veronica was alive
when I told you I was about to marry
another woman ? Why did you let me
do an innocent girl an injury ? "
Hutchinson looked at him. He was
going to prevaricate , but his hatrea
was too much for him. "Because 1
hated you ! " he cried. "Yes , and I hate
you now ! I shall never be content till
I see you dead at my feet , you villain ,
who deprived me of everything I pos
sessed ! And you dream that I should
forego my revenge ! You fool , to for
get that you had me to deal with ! "
"Yes , " said Alan slowly , "I forgot
that I was dealing with a devil , and
not a man. A man might have had
Pity. "
"Pity" Hutchinson sneered. "Pity
towards a man who ruined me ? Not
I ! But I have not done with you yet ,
you may be very sure of that ! "
Alan sprang at him. "You get out
of my office this moment , " he ex
claimed , "or I will throw you down
stairs. " He looked so fierce that
Hutchinson went at once.
Six months had elapsed since he had
said good-by to Joyce six months of
such utter hopelessness that Alan re
solved that he would leave England.
The firm of Dempster was going to be
gin operations in Australia. Any
thing , thought Alan , would be bettor
than this life. He would work hard
and live hard. He settled live hui
dred a 3ear on Veronica and the
and made a will leaving all else hj
had to Joyce. She would not let hi ?
do anything else for her whilst he wa
rangements were made to
After much deliberation he
to write to both women who loved
him. He wrote to Veronica a letter
vhich , poor soui , hurt her , although
he had no intention of being otherwise
ihan kind :
Dear Veronica : I am going to Aus
tralia. I do not think I shall see you
again , but I have arranged everything
for you with Truscott , the lawyer. You
will have five hundred a year whether
I live or die. I hope you will bring
the boy up well.
well.ALAN
ALAN MACKENZIE.
Poor Veronica cried bitterly when
she received this letter. It seemed to
her that Alan thought he had finished
all his obligations to her by paying
her five hundred a year , and Veronica ,
who was yearning for a little , love , anl
who had made a pilgrimage across the
dark waters to a land where there was
but little sun , for love's sweet sake !
Alan had a fight over his letter to
Joyce. He had said he would not
write to her ; but surely he could not
leave the country without a word of
farewell to the sweet woman whom he
had wooed and won openly , who for
six perfect weeks had been his wife ,
and whom he loved more than
thing on earth.
( To be continued. )
