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Article CATHERINE CARMICHAEL; on, THREE YEARS RUNNING. ← Page 13 of 15 →
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Catherine Carmichael; On, Three Years Running.
Carmichael , she only shook her head . She could not explain to them her thoughts and feelings . She could not say to them that she would not admit herself to have been the wife of a man whom she had ever hated , —for whom , not for a single moment , had she ever entertained anything of wifely feeling . "I am here , " she said , " only as his care-taker ;— -only as such will I ever spend a farthing of the money . " Then she showed them a letter , of which she had sent copies addressed to him at the post-offices of
various towns in New Zealand , having , spent many of her hours in making the copies , aud the letter was as follows : —¦ " If you will return to Warriwa , you will find that everything has been kept for yon as well as I have known how to keep it . The sheep are nearly up to the number . The money is at the bank at Timaru , except a very little which I have taken to pay the wages and just to support myself , —till I can go away and leave it all . You should hurry to Warriwa , because I cannot go away till you come . CATHEBINE . "
It was not , perhaps , a very wise letter . An advertisement in the New Zealand papers would have done better , and have cost less trouble .. But that was her way of setting about her work , —till her brothers had come to her , and then she sent them forth upon her errand . It was in vain that they argued with her . They were to go and find him , and send him , —not to her , —but to Warriwa . On his arrival he should find that everything was ready for him . There would be some small thing for the lawyer to
arrange , but that could be arranged at once . When the elder brother asked at the bank about his sister , the manager told him that all Timaru had failed to understand the purposes of the heiress . That old Peter Carmichael had been a miser , everybody had known , and that a large sum was lying in the bank , and that the sheep were out on the run at Warriwa . They knew , too , that the widow had inherited it all . But they could not understand why she should be careful with the money as old Peter had been ; why she
should live there in lodgings , seeing no one ; why she should be taken out to Warriwa once a month ; and why on these occasions she shoidd remain there a day or two , going through every figure , as it was said that she did do . If she liked the life of a squatter , why did she not live there and mako the place comfortable ? If , as was more probable , the place could hardly be delightful to her , why not sell it , and go away among her friends ? There would be friends enough now to make her welcome . For , though she had written the letters , and sent them out , one or two at a time , she had told no one of her purpose till her brothers crime to her . -Then the banker understood it all , and the . brothers probably understood something also .
They got upon his traces at last , and found him in Queensland , up to his throat in mud , looking for gold in a gully . "Luck ? Yes ; he had got a little , and spent the most of it . There was gold , no doubt , but he was not much in love with the spot . " 'Tis always thus the wandering gold-digger speaks of his last adventure . When they told . him that Peter Carmichael was dead , he jumped out of the gully , leaving the cradle behind him in which he had been washing the dirt , searching for specks of gold . " And Warriwa ? " he said . Then they explained the nature of the will . " And the money ,
too ? " Yes ; the money also had been left to the widow . " It would have been hers any way , " he said , " whether he left a will or not . Well , well ! So Kate is a rich woman . " Then he jumped into the gully again , aud went to work at his cradle . By degrees they explained it all to him , —as much , at least , as they coulcl explain . He must go to Warriwa . She would do nothing till he had been there . " She says it is to be all yours , " said the younger brother . ; " Don't you say no more than you know , " said the elder . " Let hhn go and find it out for himself . "
. "But Kate said so . " ¦ ' . " Kate is a woman , and may change her mind as well as another . Let him go and find it out for himself . " So he sold his claim at the gully for what little it would fetch , and . started off once again for New Zealand and Warriwa .: ' ¦ •¦ ¦ He-had himself landed at Dunedin in order that he mi g ht not be seen and questioned in passing through Timaru , and from Dunedin he ' made his way across the country direct to Warriwa . I need not trouble my readers with New Zealand geography ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Catherine Carmichael; On, Three Years Running.
Carmichael , she only shook her head . She could not explain to them her thoughts and feelings . She could not say to them that she would not admit herself to have been the wife of a man whom she had ever hated , —for whom , not for a single moment , had she ever entertained anything of wifely feeling . "I am here , " she said , " only as his care-taker ;— -only as such will I ever spend a farthing of the money . " Then she showed them a letter , of which she had sent copies addressed to him at the post-offices of
various towns in New Zealand , having , spent many of her hours in making the copies , aud the letter was as follows : —¦ " If you will return to Warriwa , you will find that everything has been kept for yon as well as I have known how to keep it . The sheep are nearly up to the number . The money is at the bank at Timaru , except a very little which I have taken to pay the wages and just to support myself , —till I can go away and leave it all . You should hurry to Warriwa , because I cannot go away till you come . CATHEBINE . "
It was not , perhaps , a very wise letter . An advertisement in the New Zealand papers would have done better , and have cost less trouble .. But that was her way of setting about her work , —till her brothers had come to her , and then she sent them forth upon her errand . It was in vain that they argued with her . They were to go and find him , and send him , —not to her , —but to Warriwa . On his arrival he should find that everything was ready for him . There would be some small thing for the lawyer to
arrange , but that could be arranged at once . When the elder brother asked at the bank about his sister , the manager told him that all Timaru had failed to understand the purposes of the heiress . That old Peter Carmichael had been a miser , everybody had known , and that a large sum was lying in the bank , and that the sheep were out on the run at Warriwa . They knew , too , that the widow had inherited it all . But they could not understand why she should be careful with the money as old Peter had been ; why she
should live there in lodgings , seeing no one ; why she should be taken out to Warriwa once a month ; and why on these occasions she shoidd remain there a day or two , going through every figure , as it was said that she did do . If she liked the life of a squatter , why did she not live there and mako the place comfortable ? If , as was more probable , the place could hardly be delightful to her , why not sell it , and go away among her friends ? There would be friends enough now to make her welcome . For , though she had written the letters , and sent them out , one or two at a time , she had told no one of her purpose till her brothers crime to her . -Then the banker understood it all , and the . brothers probably understood something also .
They got upon his traces at last , and found him in Queensland , up to his throat in mud , looking for gold in a gully . "Luck ? Yes ; he had got a little , and spent the most of it . There was gold , no doubt , but he was not much in love with the spot . " 'Tis always thus the wandering gold-digger speaks of his last adventure . When they told . him that Peter Carmichael was dead , he jumped out of the gully , leaving the cradle behind him in which he had been washing the dirt , searching for specks of gold . " And Warriwa ? " he said . Then they explained the nature of the will . " And the money ,
too ? " Yes ; the money also had been left to the widow . " It would have been hers any way , " he said , " whether he left a will or not . Well , well ! So Kate is a rich woman . " Then he jumped into the gully again , aud went to work at his cradle . By degrees they explained it all to him , —as much , at least , as they coulcl explain . He must go to Warriwa . She would do nothing till he had been there . " She says it is to be all yours , " said the younger brother . ; " Don't you say no more than you know , " said the elder . " Let hhn go and find it out for himself . "
. "But Kate said so . " ¦ ' . " Kate is a woman , and may change her mind as well as another . Let him go and find it out for himself . " So he sold his claim at the gully for what little it would fetch , and . started off once again for New Zealand and Warriwa .: ' ¦ •¦ ¦ He-had himself landed at Dunedin in order that he mi g ht not be seen and questioned in passing through Timaru , and from Dunedin he ' made his way across the country direct to Warriwa . I need not trouble my readers with New Zealand geography ;