sical condition improved considerably, though he never
ceased to suffer from the effects of his wound. The homestead of his
father, which had not been sold with the rest of his land, afforded the
invalid a sufficient support; and he married Maud Nashwood, the only
daughter of one of the small magnates of Von Blonk Park, which had now
become a thriving town, occupied mainly by business men of New York.

Paul Belgrave was a millionaire without any millions; for he was never able
to find the large property of his deceased parent. For ten years he dug
over the cellar bottom of the old house, and the ground in the vicinity;
but the missing million entirely eluded his search, and he died as soon as
he gave up all hope of finding the treasure.

Mrs. Belgrave was left with their son, then eight years old; but the estate
of her husband, with the property of her father, supported her comfortably.
The widow had been married at sixteen; and she had the reputation of being
the prettiest woman in the Park after her husband died. She had many
suitors, but she finally married a handsome English horse-trainer, who
called himself Wade Farrongate, though that was not his real name.

For some reason not then apparent, this man at once became the enemy of
Louis Belgrave; and the war between them raged for several years, though
the young man did all he could to conciliate his stepfather. The man was a
rascal, a villain to the very core of his being, though he had attained a
position of considerable influence among the sporting gentry of New York
and New Jersey, mainly for his skill as a jockey, and in the management of
the great races.

Louis discovered a plan on the part of Farrongate to appropriate the stakes
and other money dependent upon the great race of the season, and escape to
England with his wife and stepson. In this scheme Louis, after he had
obtained the evidence of the jockey's villany, went on board of the steamer
which was to convey them all over the ocean, and succeeded, with no little
difficulty, in convincing his mother of the unworthiness of her husband;
and she returned with her son to Von Blonk Park. The young man went back to
the steamer, and by skilful management obtained all the plunder of the
villain, who sailed for England without his treasure.

Farrongate, or rather John Scoble, which was his real name, was a deserter
from the British army. He was arrested on his return, and compelled to
serve out the remainder