Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 April 1893 — In Sheep's Clothing. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

In Sheep's Clothing.

BY Capl. Ormond Steele

CHAPTER XVl—Continued. 'Thrasher took in the situation, and, •finishing his currant wine, he drew his leather sleeve across his very large mouth, and, flinging his saddle bags over his shoulder, he said: “I.am going to the inn.” “That is all right, my man,” said Mr. Hedges, handing him a coin; “I’ll see you again.” “Will you send back an answer, sir?” “Yes; to-morrow all the Captain’s friends will give you letters to hand to him.” “But, sir, I must leave to-night.” “To-night?” in ehorus from the people about Thrasher. “Yea; I must go to Gardner’s Island, where a boat will take me to New York,” replied the fellow, with a self-posses-sion that proved him no novice in this business. “How long will you remain?” asked Yalentine Dayton. “About two hours.”

“Very well; we shall try to have the letters by that time," said Mr. Hedges. Thrasher bowed humbly and left. He had but just gope odt of hearing when the Squire, bursting with impatience, called out: “Well, George, what is the trouble?” “Trouble!” repeated Mr. Hedges. •“Why, the trouble is that Fox is to be back in a few days, and I am to report to him for orders!” “Beport to Fox for orders!” “Fox to have command of the Sea Hawk!” “What does Ralph mean?” These were a few of the exclamations that broke from the lips of the people on the veranda when Mr. Hedges uttered the sentence given above. Mr. Hedges ran the fingers of his left hand nervously through his frosted hair, his right hand clutching the letter. He was debating the propriety of reading it, and on such an important question, tor he had the old-time regard for official etiquette. He could not afford to come to a hasty conclusion. “Sit dowil.sitdown,” he said atlength; “I can’t st-e any harm in letting you all know now what every one aship and ashore must know in a few hours.” ’Squire Condit and his wife sat down on the lieutenant’s right hand, and Valentine Dayton and Ellen just in front of him. He was noticeably deliberate in his speaking, and painfully so in his reading. He hesitated over some of the words, and his soundless lips spelt them to himself beforu pronouncing them. This was the letter:

“NEW AMSTERDAM INN, BO WRING GREEN. “Cut of New York and ye “Province of Same. “To Ist Officer, “George Hedges, “Lom’d’g ye Provincial Cruiser, * “Sea Hawk, “Her M’s Service, “Off Sag Harbor, “County of Suffolk, “Long Island. “Sir: —The Governor of ye Province of New York, to whom I have made due report of ye condition and state of ye provincial cruiser, Sea Hawk, bath ordered and commanded me to remain in attendance on his worshipful honor, until such time or times as ye great council meet, to whom I shall make such explanation of ye condition of piracy, in ye Spanish Main a 3 shall he fitting ye occasion. “I therefore command, instruct and order. that you, George Hedges, Ist officer, com’d’g ye aforesaid cruiser, Sea Hawk, shall, on ye arrival of Captain William Fox. of H. M. Ship Wanderer, report to him for such Instructions as it shall please him to give, and to be unto him obedient In all things pe.talnlng to the conduct of ye ship and crew. • “In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature, and the seal of ye aforesaid cruiser. Sea Hawk. “I have the honor to be, “Most truly. “Your h’mble, “Ob’n’t servant, “Ralph Denham, “Captain of ye Provincial Cruiser, Sea “Hawk.”

“There,” said Lieutenant Hedges, “that’s the letter, Yal. What do you think of it?” “I am very sorry,” replied Valentine Dayton, “but, of course, you can do nothing but obey orders.” “of course,” echoed the Lieutenat. “I wish that fellow Fox never showed his red head in this town,” said the squire, angrily. “Oh, he is not to blame; he must obey orders like ourselves,” said the bluff old Lieutenant. “My dear,” said Mrs. Condit, inclining her pretty head to her husband, and turning her mild eyes to the others to Induce them to note what she was about to say, “I do not think that Ralph wrote that letter.” "I’m sorry to say,” said the lawyer, to whom a bit of wax with a seal on it was the badge of law and authority, “that there can’t be any doubt about it, ” “Still,” she persisted. “I feel that he did not write it” “Have you any other reason than your own feelings, dear wife?” asked the squire. “Yes; I cannot think that Ralph Denham, who, man and boy has known George Hedges for one and twenty years, would write a cold, stiff, heartless letter like that,” “Nor can I believe that Ralph wrote it,” added Ellen. “Ralph didn’t write the letter,” said Va’entiue Dayton/’ “It was written by the Captain of the Sea Hawk in his official capacity. If he had written to Uncle George, or to me, or to any of us, as Ralph Denham, our true old friend, he’d put as much heart into his words as any man that ever handled a pen.” “Yes,” explained Mr. Hedges, who saw and appreciated the mistake of the ladies, “official communications, even between father and son, as I’ve seen .time and time again in the service, has all got to be written that way. Why, they wouldn’t be official if they wasn’t stiff, and cold, and lofty, and all that.” Neither Ellen nor her mother attempted comment, for, with the exception of the Squire, there was not to them a greater authority than Lieut. George Hedges in all the country round about. “There is but little satisfaction in a man trying to do his duty,” said Valentine, with some bitterness. “Why couldn’t the Governor have left Uncle George in charge of the ship?” As no one attempted to answer this question, the Squire asked Mr. Hedges if he had any objections to letting him see the letter. “Not at all,” replied Mr. Hedges; “read it for yourself. ” The Squire took the letter, adjusted his spectacles, and coughed with great solemnity, while his face took on that expression of judicial gravity which was the terror of all evil-doers in that country. He was about to read the letter when

Lea Hedges came up the path and joined the party. She ha* seen the post-ridy going to Squire Condit’s, and her heart told her that he carried news from Ralph Denham. After Ellen and her mother had explained the situation, and Lea had expressed her sorrow in her face rather than by words, the Squire read the letter aloud, and then, spreading it out on his knee he took off his spectacles, and after wiping them, again adjusted them with great nicety to his nose; he concluded these preparations by taking a vigorous pinch of snuff, after he had passed round the box with no takers. “Let me ask you a question, Lieutenant Hedges,” he began, with a severity of mien that startled his wife and perplexed Ellen not a little. “Aye, aye, sir. Fire away,” said Mr. Hedges. , “Captain Denham left you in command of the Sea Hawk?” “Yes, sir.” “To hold till he returned?” “Yes, sir, or till lam relieved by some properly commissioned officer.” “Just so; that is the way I see it. Now this letter does not say that you are to turn over the command of the ship to Captain Fox; on the contrary, it is expressly stated that you shall obey him as a superior officer, so far as the movements of the vessel under your command are concerned." “I think you are right there, sqyiire, ” said Mr. Hedges, his face brightening up. “I know I am. When Fox comes he will have orders from -the Governor, and you’ll see that they accord with my opinion as justice of the peace.” And satisfied that all the judges in the world could not differ from this opinion, the squire handed back the letter. When Lea learned that Thrasher, the post-rider was about to return in about an hour or two, she got a quill and paper from Ellen and sat down then and there to write her lover a letter. All wrote, Mr. Hedges’ being the only letter that had an official tone, and the only one in which love or friendship was not sent to Ralph, with strong injunctions to answer as soon as possible, and give them all the particulars, particularly the particulars of his return. When all. the letters were ready,. Mr. Hedges and Valentine Dayton took them down to the inn, where they found Thrasher smoking his pipe with an air of great enjoyment, and looking like anything but a man exhausted by a long ride.

“These letters,” said Valentine Dayton, taking a gold coin from his pocket and handing it with the letters to Thrasher, “are all private, so I will pay you now, and when you hand them to Capt. Denham, I am sure he will give you an additional reward.” “I like Cap n Denham as much as any man I ever came across, except, perhaps, mebbe, Cap’n Fox; he comes up about to him; and you’ll see I won’t forget myself,” replied Thrasher, whose flushed face showed that he had been taking advantage of his unexpected prosperity to treat himself to wine. Soon after this the post-rider left for Greenport, from which point he said he was going to Gardner’s Island, then and still in the possession of the family that first purchased it from the Indians. “I don’t like that man, Thrasher,” said Mr. Hedges, as he and Valentine stood on the beach signaling the Sea Hawk to send a boat for them. “Nor do I, but of course the fellow has nothing to do with the nature of the messages he carries. I almost wish the Sea Hawk was out of commission, and we were settled down on shore again,” said Valentine. “Oh, it’s all very well for you, Val, who have a pretty girl ready to become your wife, to talk about settling down; but here I am—five-and-forty, with no wife and the prospect of none. ” “That is your own fault, Uncle George." “Perhaps it is; I could have married in my time, and when I was your age, if any one had told me I should live to be as old as I am now, without getting married, I would call him crazy. .Yet, here I am, with no bride but the ship and no home but the sea.”“Oh, come, Uncle George, don’t talk in that way. Every house on the island is your home and every man is your friend; and as to getting married, why a man of forty-five should bo in his prime. If you doubt this start oiit at once with the object of getting a wife, and my word for it, you can win a girl nearly as sweet as Ellen Condit, and that is saying a great deal for the powers of fascination of any man, young or old." The lieutenant’s bronzed face and clear, brave eyes took on a softer expression, and his usually strong, bold voice had in it a sub-tone of music, as he said: “Perhaps'you are right; Val. I know I feel as' strong, and my head is as clear, and my heart as stout as it e£er was; and talking ’bout being too old to love, I’ll tell you something if It wasn’t I’m afraid you’d laugh at me.” “You do me an injustice. Uncle George, If you thing I could entertain any other feeling than respect for what I th’nk to be the noblest emotion that can stir the human heart A man himself in love, is not apt to ridicule the feelinc in another. ”

“I think you are right, my lad, and more particularly when that other is one’s Oncle. But I don't see why I shouldn’t tell you, though you may think strange of my taste, that I have had my eye on a certain girl for'two years and more. ” “May I ask if I know her?” “You do, Val,” said the lieutenant, blushing through his tan. “Well, Uncle George, who is she?” “She is not of our race,” said the lieutenant, with a solemn shake of the head. “Not of our race! What do you mean?” “I mean, Val, she alnt white ” 'But she aint black!” cried VaL “Mercy preserve us! No, she’s red. She’s an Indian, Val, a princess in her tribe, and a prettier or nobler woman nev rtiod the shores of Long Island. I don’t care what color the next is ” “Do you mean Untilla?” “I (jo, Val.” “And have you said anything to her about it?” “Of course I haven’t. But Isay, Val, my boy, you must do it for me. ” “But why not make the proposal yourself, uncle?” “Hang it, lad, I’d rather attack a war frigate. You must do it for me,” said Mr. Hedges, appealingly. By this time the boat from the Sea Hawk reached the shore near by, and so brought an end to what the old lieutenant afterwards declared was “the most trying conversation he had ever tackled during tne five-and-forty years” of his by no means uneventful life. Lea Hedges parted with Ellen at the gate, and under an impulse that she could not resist, she made her way to the place where she and Ralph Denham had for the first time come to an understanding. She felt hurt that he had not sent one word to her by the messenger. “It would have taken so little of his time, ” she said, as she sat down on the fallen trunk of the same tree, ’so little of his time, yet it would have fed my hungry

heart, If ho ted only repeated what 1 so well know ‘Lea, I love you.’ ” She saw Valentino and her uncle in earnest conversation, as they waited for the boat that hastened to them from the Sea Hawk; and she envied them, for she supposed they were discussing naval matters, and that love could only engross men when they had nothing else to do, while with her own sex, love absorbed all their thoughts, if it did not control all the acts of their lives. She regretted that Captain Fox was coming baok, and She made up her mind to hold him at arm’s length if he continned his coarse attentions. She could not even think kindly of her father while this man plagued her thoughts. She was not aware that another person was near her till she heard her name called in accents low, musical and thrilling, and looking up with a start, she saw rntilla before her. The Indian maiden had attended the same-sch 00l with Lea, Ellen and the young ladies of the better families in the place, and in many respects she was the intellectual equal of the brightest. She was particularly distinguished for the frankness of her manners—a Irankness was as far removed from rudeness as the clear waters of a willow shaded spring differ from the tinged stream to which it gives rise. Untilla had all the dignity of character that distinguished the rulers of her race, but there blended with it a gentleness and a freshness of disposition, which some call natural, and all know to be lov ng. In proof of this it may be said, here as well as hereafter, that Un»illa well knew that lea loved Ralph Denham. In the days when they were laughing school girls. Lea made no secret to her friends of the feeling then being-warmed in‘o a life that should. only die out with her own. And the Indian maiden, with the dignified reticence of her people, kept her own counsel; but as she could not act a lie, her manner to Ralph Denham told her feeling for him as plainly as if she had announced it in a meeting of the tribe. Untilla, since the return of the Sea Hawk from the last cruise, saw where the young Captain’s affections lay, and while her heart rebelled for a moment against the inevitable, she made up her nund to submit, and for his sake continue loving what he loved. “Why, bntilla!" exclaimed Lea, as she took the Indian girl’s hands, and drew her to a seat on the fallen tree. “I supposed you were miles and miles away." “I would be back airnyhome, I should be there, for my brother has the white man, Colonel Graham, for a guest,were it not for you,” replied Untilla, still bolding one of Lea’s hands. “Then, my dear Untilla, if you coma to see me, you must do it at my father’s house," said Lea, preparing to rise. |TO BE CONTINUED.;