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There were few to mourn the abduction of Hiram
Sharp. Among those who did not weep was poor
Tony West, who had been perpetually haunted by
visions of the released Hiram posting to Breuklyn
to reclaim his gold and disavow his promise. But
Tony had taken some slight preventive measures
against such a calamity; for he had sewed up his
treasure in a leathern bag, and had inclosed the whole
in a small deal box, which in its turn he had buried
deeply in his master's cellar, and covered with a
heavy hogshead, and thrice a day did poor Tony
steal cautiously down to see if his huge sentinel was
undisturbed.

If Evert Knickerbocker's wrongs were seemingly
avenged by the calamity which had befallen their
author, his own condition was by no means improved.
It was like one of those comfortable processes of the
law, by which, sometimes, a criminal is heavily fined for
depredations upon his neighbor's property, the amount
of the amercement going into the public treasury,
while the defrauded party gets nothing but “

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satisfaction,” and that of rather a diluted quality. It was
indeed rather an aggravation of Evert's sufferings to
behold the exaltation of a new enemy, whose legitimate
insignificance was unrelieved by the shrewdness
which sometimes saves villainy from contempt.
Benhadad's condescension was harder to bear than
Hiram's hate, and Evert, in the exercise of Christian
duty, found it easier to forgive the father than to
withhold his scorn from the son. For Benhadad had
recovered all his importance, and there was a degree
of loftiness, even in his grief, a sort of stately solemnity,
which was quite imposing. He felt relieved
from further responsibility by the turn which events
had taken, for there were no means of pursuing his
father, or taking any additional steps for his rescue.
Whatever had been the cause which led to so great a
crime, there seemed no reason to hope for a return
of the unfortunate victim. His children could not at
once assume the right to their large inheritance, but
they had all the essential benefits of ownership, with
a reasonable certainty of the future title.

Mr. Knickerbocker, meanwhile, saw his means
continually decreasing, with no prospect of relief from
utter poverty. He felt like the tenants of those ingenious
cells of torture, the walls of which are so constructed
as to move daily nearer together, until their hapless
tenant is crushed between them. He saw the

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approach of destitution, and estimated daily its diminished
distance. Ah, dreadful task! to watch the
out-going stream, and the failing fountain, with no
power to stay or replenish its departing tide. But
sorrows come not singly, and the venerable Evert
found still another source of anxiety in the impaired
health of his daughter. Not that she complained of
illness, or intermitted her usual duties, but there was
“such a change” in Effie. She, who had been so
cheerful and so ready to impart courage to him, was
now herself drooping, and the more evidently so,
from her earnest but ineffectual attempts to maintain
her former vivacity. The smile faded in its inception,
the once ringing laugh was now forced and unnatural,
the sparkling eyes were dimmed with frequent tears,
and the pallid face was turned aside to hide them.
Her brother was the first to notice this change and to
guess at its cause. The name of this young Nimrod,
which is supposed to have been originally Jedediah,
had been shortened by immemorial usage in the
family into the initial syllable, and the very servants
had no other name for him than Massa Jed. His
devotion to the chase was unbounded, and it gave
additional zest to the relish with which he pursued his
forest sports, to know that they now contributed materially
to the maintenance of the family. He was a
stout, broad-shouldered young man, with the full

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glow of health upon features which, if none of the
handsomest, possessed the inimitable charm of good
nature. There was never a snarl or a crotchet visible
on his face, and let the world go as it would, he had
a good word and a smile for everybody. He used to
say, that next to his hounds and his hunter he loved
Effie, but the truth was that his gentle sister had
no rival in his affections. During the period of Rudolph's
recent visits to the Knickerbocker family, a
warm friendship had sprung up between the young
men; an intimacy, indeed, of that sudden growth
which could originate only between dispositions alike
frank and ingenuous. They had walked, and ridden,
and hunted together; and nearly all of the time
which Rudolph had not devoted to Effie, had been
passed in the presence of her brother. Jed had, of
course, suspected the sentiments of the lovers, and
Effie's recent dejection had confirmed his suspicions.
He felt certain that there was some unfathomed mystery
in the matter, but he did not think of bestowing
censure upon Rudolph, whom he knew to be the soul
of sincerity and truth. Affairs stood thus for several
weeks, and Jed looked daily, but in vain, to see the
returning sunshine of his sister's smile, and to hear
her wonted voice of mirth welcoming him home from
the woodlands. He had returned one afternoon in
unusual spirits, having brought down two noble bucks

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after a glorious run, and he was so delighted himself
that he felt sure of seeing Effie in her wonted glee.
Nor was he entirely disappointed; she met him with
momentary cheerfulness, for there was no resisting
his contagious enthusiasm, and poor Jed rejoiced to
believe that the spell was at length really broken.

“And here comes father,” he shouted, as the bending
form of Evert was seen moving slowly up the
lawn; “two bucks, father—one with six antlers, and
one—”

But the evident abstraction of the old man, and the
expression of his features, indicating that he had something
else in his thoughts, induced the son to pause.

“Rudolph is going to Holland,” said Evert, as he
drew nigh.

A light trembling hand was upon Jed's shoulder,
and at the next moment he felt that Effie was leaning
upon him for support.

“Let us go in,” she said, as she slid her arm within
her brother's; “the air grows cold;” and Jed, talking
rapidly for her relief, accompanied her into the house.

Evert's intelligence was true. Rudolph had resolved
to bid a final adieu to the province, and to
seek his fortunes in his ancestral land. The pending
war was rich in inducements both to patriotism and
ambition, and he might bury his griefs in its turmoil,
or, which seemed scarcely less desirable, terminate

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them in an honorable death. His Majesty's brig-of-war,
the Terror, had been repaired, and being on the
eve of sailing, afforded him the means of proceeding
at once to England, whence he could cross, if not
directly to Holland, by reason of the war, yet to
some part of the continent from which that country
would be easily accessible. He had one trial to endure
before departing which he would gladly have
avoided, and that was to bid adieu to the Knickerbockers.
Ordinary civility forbade the neglect of so
obvious a duty, and a few days prior to that fixed for
his departure, he nerved himself to the task. Evert
had both messages and packages to forward to his
native land, and gladly availed himself of Rudolph's
offered services to bear them. He lauded the young
man's enterprise and courage, and wished him every
success, not neglecting, on a momentary return of his
monomania, to give one more twinge to the torture
of the lover, by a repetition of his former inquiry in
relation to Egbert. Jed was not at home, and while
Rudolph was talking constrainedly to Effie, the old
man casually strolled away, and there was a crisis
when it seemed that something must occur to dispel
the singular hallucination which rested upon two ingenuous
minds, each devotedly attached to the other,
and yet about to separate forever. Ah! how many
a term of misery has been entailed upon generous

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and noble hearts by some trifling misunderstanding
which a word might have dispelled, and yet that
word was never spoken.

If Rudolph could not fail to notice the change in
Effie, he attributed it all to Egbert's perfidy, and thus
the mesh of error thickened around him until he was
entangled at every point.

“I fear that my father is troubling you with too
many commissions,” said Effie, after an embarrassing
pause in conversation.

“By no means,” replied Rudolph; “his letters will
serve as an introduction for me, and may prove of
the greatest service. Has Miss Knickerbocker no
messages for her friends abroad?”

“I believe I have no friends,” replied Effie, smiling
faintly, “excepting father and Jed.”

“It will take something from my sense of loneliness
on leaving—home,” said Rudolph, “if Miss Knickerbocker
will allow me to believe that she includes me
also in the list.”

Effie bowed, and turned away, unable to speak.

There was another pause, but no good angel intervened
to show this mistaken pair their folly; a formal
farewell ensued,—and Rudolph was gone.

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