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1
lllustrtioiisy-
CHAPTER I.
The Bonanza King.
The cold of foot-hill California In
the month of Jammry held (ho night
Tho occupants of the surrey woro too
cramped and htllTcned by It. '' 00
uncomfortably enwrapped against It,
to Bpeirk. Silence atf complete as .that
which lay like it M'di on the land
srnpo brooded over (hern. At the
Jnft slopping place, CIiIikho dulc-li. a
pratlorlnK or houses hIx miles behind
thorn on the mountain road, thoy had
halted at' the main Kaloon. and whlMcy
and water had been paused to the
driver and to the burlier figure on
the back Beat. The watchem that
thronged to tho paloon door had eyed
the third occupant of the carriage with
tho Intent, Bheeplsh curkwlly of the
isolated man In prehenco of the strati
ner female. Afterward, each ono was
voluble In his impressions of her- faco,
laje In the Binoky lamplight, nnd tho
hand that ulltl, small and white, out
ot Its loose glove when the warming
ftlaBH was offered her.
Since then both bho and her com
ivinlon bad leaned back In their sev
eral corners and preserved an un
broken silence.
Tho burrey sped HWlftly along tho
rond which wound In nprclral pallor
over the shoulder of the font-lilll. now
dipping Into tho blnckneBH of a ravlno,
then creeping up a baio slope, where
-tho horse's hoofs dug In laboriously
.amid loosened stones. Tho solemn
loneliness or -tho landscape, faintly
revealed" by the light of large, clear
stars, Boomed to find appropriate ex
pression In this frosly, smoke-breath-lag
stillness.
The larger figure on the back seat
Coved, and turned a face, all of which
Is hidden save tho oyes, toward Its
companion.
"Hungry?" queried a deep bass
Ice; the inquiring polysyllable shot
jeut suddenly over an upturned, bul
wark of collars.
" "Fearfully," camo tho aimwor In a
muffled feminine treble, that suited
tho moro diminutive bulk.
"Oct a move on, Jnke," to tho driv
er. "This girl's most famished." ,
"Hold your horses," growled tho
other man; "we'ro Just about there."
j f At these words tho woman pricked
up her eWs, and, Jcanlug forward,
peered ahead. As they rounded a pro
truding nnglo ot tho bill, a buddlo of
roofs and walls spotted with lights
camo into view, alul tho sight drew
her hand forward with an eagerly
pointing linger.
"So that's Rocky Bar!" sho cried.
"Havo woreally got there at fast?"
Tho driver chuckled.
"That's Hocky Bar all right. Now
got your appotito good nnd ready."
"No need," Bho responded gaily;
"It's been ready nnd waiting for hours.
t was beginning to think that you'd
lost your way."
"Mol" with nn accent of Incred
ulous scorn. "Ah, get out 1 How does
It come, Governor, thnt Bill Cannon'H
girl don't know no moro about these
parts than a young lady from Now
York?"
"She's never been tip hero before,"
said tho mnn on tho back scat, begin
ning to untangle himself from his on
foldlns rugs. 'I'vo brought her up
with me this lime to show lior some
ot tho places whoro her pa used to
vroik round with tho boys, long beforo
ho vvnBcvor thought of,"
A loud barking of dogs broke out
s thoy approached tho first detached
'houses of tho settlement. Sliapea np
pcared nt the 'lighted doorwayH, tiud
aa tho surrey drew up at tho hotel
balcony a crowding of heads wan Been
la tho windows. Tho entire popula
tion of Rocky Bar Bpent Its evenings
m thin hospitable reuoit, In Rummer
on tho balcony under the shnde of tho
!locust trees, in winter round the oiflco
store, uplttlug ami nmoklug in cheery
sociability. But nt ttils hour the great
event of Hocky Bnr'a day was over.
The eight stages, tho pauheugurH of
which dined nt tho hotel, hail long
passed onward on their various routes
up nnd down the "mother lode" and
Into the camps or (he Sierra, That tho
nightly excitement ot the "victualing
up" was to ho supplemented by a Into
arrival in a Burroy, driven by Jnko
McVeigh, the proprietor of tho San
Jacinto stables, and accompanied by
woman, wan u sensational event not
often awarded to Rocky Bar, even in
the heyday of suminortlme.
Tho qccupnnts of the olllco crowded
Into tho doorway ami pressed them
belvos against the windows.
Tho hotel proprietor, an ancient
mnn with a loosened vest, and trou
sers tucked into long boots, dispersed
them as ho ushered the strangers Into
tho office. That (hey were truvelern
of distinction was obvious, as much
frpm their own appearance as from
the fact that Jake McVeigh was driv
ing them himself, in his best surrey
nnd with his finest team. But just
liow important thoy wero no one
Kuessod till McVeigh followed them
In, and into ears stretched for the in
formation dropped the sentence, half
heard, like a stage nBldu:
"It's Bill Cannon and his daughter
iWse."
Upon tho proprietor it had an oloc
trie effect. Ho sped from tho room
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MENS CfflUfflEN
OTALMNjS BONNER
Author xylim P50NBER
rroMQRgpws tanglb;
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Cogyrit lW8ftjrTlieB0DDS.MERiaiL CO.
with tho alertness of youth, promising
"a cold lunch" in n minute. To tho
others it enmo as a pieco of intelli
gence that added awo to tho lighter
emotions of tho occasion. By common
consent their eyes focused on the
great man who stood warming his
hands at tho stovo. Even tho rare,
unusual woman, rovealed now as suffi
ciently pretty to be nn object of fu
ture dreams, was Interesting only to
tho younger and moro Impressionable
members of tho throng. All but these
gazd absorbed, unblinking, at Bill
Cannon, the Bonanza King.
Ho was used (o It. It had been a
part of his life for years. Eying his
admirers with a genial good humor,
he entered into conversation with
them, his mnnner maiked by an easy
familiarity, which swept away all
shades of embarrassment, and drew
the inon around the stovo, eager (o
respond to his questions ns to the con
dition and prospects of tho locality.
Tho talk was becoming general and
animated, when the ancient man re
turned and announced thnt tho "cold
lunch" wns ready and to pleaso "step
after him Into the dining-room."
This gaunt apartment, grimly un
adorned and faintly illumined, nn oc
casional lantern backed by a tin ro
Hector projecting a feeble light into
Its echoing emptiness, wns swept of
all Intruders, and showed a barn-Ilkc
bareness of wall and loftiness of roof.
Lines of tnblcs, uncovered between
flanking wooden benches, wero ar
ranged down Its length. Across the
end of one of these a whlto cloth was
spread and three places sot. Jnko
McVeigh, loss Innocently democratic
than the hotel proprietor, was about to
withdraw from tho society of his dis
tinguished patron nnd seat himself In
seemly lonellneaB at an adjacent
table, when Bill Cunnon's voice arrest
ed him.
"What aro you going off there for,
sonny, an if you wero a leper? Come
over here and sit side of us."
Cannon, his overcoat removed, was
seen to be a powerful, thick-sot toian,
with a hulklness that was moro a
matter of broad build and muscular
development than fat. Ills coat Bet ill
upon him nnd strained at tho buttons.
It hnd tho effect of having worked up
toward tho shouldcra, notlceablo In
the clothes of men who aro deep
chested and sit bunchlly. Ho hnd a
short neck which ho accommodated
with a turn-down collar, a gray beard,
clipped closo to his chcoks and square
on tho chin, nnd gray hair, worn rath
or long 'and combed sleekly and with
out parting back from his forehead.
In ago ho was closo to seventy, but
tho alertness and intelligence of a
conquering energy nnd vitality wero
in his glance, and showed In his move
ments, deliberate, but Bitro and full of
precision. Ho spoko littlo ns ho ate
his dinner, leaning over his plnte and
responding to tho remarks of his
daughter with an occasional monosyl
lable that might havo sounded curt,
had it not bceu accompanied with a
"What Are You Going Off There For,
8onnyr as If You Were a Leper?"
lazy cast of his eye upon hor that wns
as full of affection as a caress.
The young lady, who had also put
off hor outer wraps, Btlll wore her hat,
which wns wido-brlmmod nnd cast a
Bhndow over tho upper part ot hor
face. Bolow it hor hair showed a fine,
bright blonde, giving forth silky
gleams in tho lamplight. To tho peep
ing heads in the doorway alio seemed
a creature Instinct with romantic
charm, which was oxpressrd in such
delicacies of appearance as a pearl
white throat, a rounded chin, and lips
that smiled rondlly. Theso grnceB, ea
gorly deciphered through dimness and
distance, had tho attraction ot the
semi-soon, nnd imagination, thus, giv
en un encouraging tllllp, Invested Bill
Cannon's girl with a haunting beauty,
it was remarked that she boro no re
semblance to her father in coloring,
features, or build. In talking it over
lutor, Rocky Bar decided that sho
must favor hor mother, who, as all
California knew, had been a waitress
in tho Yuba Hotel ut Mnrysvillo, when
iifllil
Bill Cannon, then a miner in tho
Freeze-Out, had wooed nnd won hor.
It wns toward tho end of tho mcnl,
thnt, looking at tho opposite wall, hor
glance wns caught by a large clock
to which sho drew her father's atten
tion: "Half-past nine! How fashionable
wo nrol And when ore you going to
get us up to Antelope, Mr. McVeigh?"
McVeigh studied tho clock pondor
lngly as ho felt In his breast pocket
for his toothpick.
"Well," ho said, "If wo leave hero
nt ten and mnko good time tho hull
way U'b up hill pretty much with
out a break I'll got you there about
midnight." N
Sho made n little grimace.
"And it will bo much colder, won't
It?"
"Colder V colder. You'll be goin'
higher with every step. Antelope's
on (ho slope of tho Sierra, and you
can't expect to bo warm up there in
tho end of January."
"If you hadn't wnntcd to come,"
said her father "you'd have been
Just about getting ready for Mrs. Ry
nn's ban. Isn't this about the magic
hour when you begin to lay on tho
first layer of war-paint?"
The girl looked at (he clock, nod
ding with a faint, reminiscent smile.
"Just about," she said. "I'd have
been probably looking at my dress
laid out on the bed nnd saying to my
self, 'Now I wonder if it's worth while
getting Into that thing and having
nil tho bother of going to this ball.'
On the evenings when I go out,
there's always a stage when that hap
pens." McVeigh, with his too(hplck in full
operndon, looked nt her, admiring and
half comprehending, for tho first timo
feeling himself an outsider. She
caught his eye, rend its meaning, nnd
with tho quick tact of a delicate na
ture, said:
"It's Mrs. Cornelius Ryan In San
Francisco. Sho has a ball to-night
nnd I wns golnK. but 1 came up here
with papa instead. I don't care for
balls."
"Sort of late (o be primping up for
a ball," said McVeigh, restoring the
toothpick to his pocket nnd pushing
back his chair. "I'll go and havo n
look nt the horses. And, Governor,
If you'll bo ready in fifteen minuteB
I'll bo round at tho porch waiting."
Cannon nodded, nnd, as the driver
clumped off over the hoard floor, said
to his daughter:
"I wonder if Domlnlck Ryan'll be
there at the ball, I mean. His moth
er's made up her mind not to recog
nize the woman he's married, nnd to
freeze her out, but I wonder if she'll
havo tho nerve not (o nbk her to
night." "I don't seo how sho could do that,"
said the girl. "This is one of the
largest bnlls over given in San Fran
cisco. Sho can't lenvo her son out,
and she couldn't ask him without his
wife."
".Couldn't Bho?" Bald tho old man,
with a nnrrowing of his eyes and a
knowing wag of his Head. "You don't
know Delia Ryan. I do. l'vo known
her forty years, ever Blnco she wns
first married and did wnshlng on tho
back porch of her shanty in Virginia
City. Sho wns a good deal of n worn
nn then, n strong, brainy woman, and
she's tho snmo to-day, hut hard as
nails. I'll bet a hat she hasn't asked
Domintck's wifo to that ball."
"What do you supposo he'll do?"
asked tho daughter, somewhat aghast
at this glimpse at tho Ryan family
skeleton.
"Don't nsk mo such conundrums.
I'm glad I'm not in It, that's all I
know. When two women lock horns
J'm ready to stop quietly down and
out. I never to my knowledgo saw
Domlnlck s wife, but l'vo heard nbout
her, nnd tnko it she's a protty hard
kind of a proposition. .They say she
married tho boy for money and posl
tlon, and hasn't got cither. Delia,
who has the money, hasn't given them
n cent since tho marringo; mado up
her mind, peoplo say, to forco Mrs.
Domlnlck out. Sho doesn't seem (o
havo dono It, and I guess It's been
sort of aggravating to hor. Just tho
same I'd like to know If sho'B had
tho nerve not to send tho woman an
Invitation to tho ball. That would be
pretty tough."
"I've never seen either Domlnlck or
his wife," snld tho girl. "It seems odd
when I know Mrs. Ryan and Cornelia
bo well. But ho married the year I
camo back from Europe, and he's
never been anywhere since. I don't
believe he cVer goes to his mother's.
There's Mr. McVeigh in the doorway;
we'd better bo going."
Once again In the carriage they
were Boon clear of tho last straggling
shanty, and speeding along tho pale,
nsccndlng rond. Tho silence that
held tho trio beforo their arrival at
Rocky Bar again fell on them.
Wrapped in overcoats and rugs, Bill
Cannon appeared to slumber, every
now nnd (hon ub the wheels Jolted
over n piece of rough roadbed shak
en Into growing wakefulness. Mc
Veigh also rolled sleepily In his seat,
occasionally leaning stdowlso to spit
over tho wheel. Only tho girl seemed
alert and wideawake, her face cran
ing out from (ho shadowed back sent,
hor oyoa strained to pierce (he ob
scurlty nnd see for tho first tlmo tho
landscape of foot-hill California, of
'Which her fnthor had so often told
her.
McVeigh looked back over his
shoulder, saw tho bright eyes under
tho lint brim, and said softly;
"The Silver Croscent stamp-mill.
Tho last big mine we'll Bee."
The ascending road crept along tho
edges of ravines whenco tho sound of
running water camo in n clear clink
ing, dived down into black caverns
of trees unllghted by (he feeblest ray
of Btrvr-shlno, nnd (hen climbed in
alow, laborious loops (ho bnro bul
warks of tho mountain. Had the girl
been nblo to seo plainly sho would
have noticed tho change in tho foli
age, the disappearance of the smaller
shrubs and delicate interlacement of
naked boughs, and tho mightier
growth of tho pines, soaring shafts
devoid of branches to a great height.
BoulderB appeared among their roots,
Btrnlght falls of rock edged tho road
like tho walls of a fort.
McVeigh turned nnd caught the
bright eye.
"Seems Ilko your paw must think
n lot of whnt ho's heard about tho
now strike at Grconhldo to como all
this way," ho whispered.
"I guess ho does," camo tho re
sponse in tho snme key.
"It sort of stumps mo to know why
you camo nlong with him," he contin
ued, his eyes on tho horses, but lean
ing back to catch her answer.
"Mightn't I Just want to seo tho
country?"
"Well, mebbo you might, but it
don't bcem to mo that you'ro seeln'
much of It to-night."
He heard her smothered laugh, shot
his glance back to his horses, and
then turning back to her.
"You'ro a lively girl, ain't you?" ho
said.
"I don't feel very lively Just nt
this minute. I'm a cold girl, the cold
est in California, I think."
That mado him laugh, too, but ho
turned back to his horses, saying with
quick consideration:
;'I guess you are. Come, boys," to
tho horses, "we've got to get n move
on. Wo can't lot this young lady
catch cold." f
Tho horses quickened their pace
and there wns no more talk. An hour
later tho first broken lights of Ante
lopo sparkled along tho road. Tho
old mining camp, in a hollow between
two buttresses of the Sierra, lay shut
tered and dreaming under tho star
light. A lump-lit window, hero and
thero, showed the course of Its strag
gling main street, and where tho ho
tel stood, welcoming rays winked be
tween tho boughs of leafless trees.
As tho thud of the approaching
1 " T V iff r SEKRaU
"And So Your Wife Sent You Up
hoof-beatB woke tho echoes a sudden
violent barking of dog3 broko out.
Antelope was evidently not as sound
asleep as it looked. At the hotel, es
pecially, there was life and move
menL The bar disgorged n throng of
men, and Perley, tho proprietor, had
to push his way through them to wel
come his midnight guests. Antelope,
though remote, was In telegraphic
communication with the world, and
tho operator at Rocky Bar had wired
Perley to be ready for tho distin
guished arrivals news (hat In a half
hour was known throughout the
town nnd had brought most of tho
unattached male population Into tho
hotel.
Jake McVeigh was pulling the lug
gage 'lrom under tho seats nnd Can
non was iniercnangmg tno Jlrst greet
ings with his landlord, when tho girl,
who had gono to tho balcony rnlllng
nnd was looking out into tho dark
ness, cried:
"Why, papa, snow!"
Tho information seemed to startle
ovory one. Tho men crowded from
tho doorway and balcony into tho
street. McVeigh set dow,n tho bags,
and, turning his weather-beoten face
to tho sky, uttered a smothered ejac
ulation of a profane character. Can
non came forward to whoro his daugh
ter Btood and looked Into the black
neas beyond. The girl had drawn off
her glovo and held her bnro hand out,
then stepping back to tho light of tho
window, sho showed'it to hor father.
Tho white skin -was sprinkled with
snow crystals.
"Sure enough," ho said In a thought-
ful voice. "Well, it won't bo tho first
time l'vo been snowed up in Antelope."
CHAPTER II.
A Young Man Married.
That samo evening, nt tho hour
when Bill Cannon and his daughter
wero potting out from Rocky Bar,
Domlnlck Ryan wns walking up Van
Ness Avenue townrd his mother's
house.
Domlnlck did not know at what
hours balls of tho kind Mrs. Ryan
was giving that evening wero sup
posed to begin. It was nearly three
years Blnco ho had been a participant
In such festal gatherings. He had
not been nt n dance, or a dinner, or
a theater party slnco his marringo.
Ho had heard that theso "functions,"
ob peoplo now called them, began lat
er than thoy did in his day. Stop
ping by a lamp ho drew, out his watch
ten o'clock. It was later than ho
expected. In truth, as ho had seen
tho house looming massively from Its
less Imposing neighbors, his foot had
lagged, his approach had grown slow
er nnd slower. It was his mother's
home, once his own, and ns ho drew
nearer to it his rcluctanco to enter
grow Btronger, moro overpowcringly
oppressive.
The stimulating unquiet of festival
was in tho nlr. Round tho mouth of
the canvas tunnel thnt stretched from
the door a dingy crowd was assem
bled, staring In nt nothing moro In
spiring than tho blank visage of the
closed portal. At every passing foot
step each faco turned to tho street,
hopefully expectnnt of tho first guest.
Tho whining of catgut Btrlngs, swept
by tentative bows, struck on Doml
nlck's ear as ho pushed his way
through the throng and passed up tho
tunnel. Before he touched the bell
tho door swung back nnd a man-servant
ho had never seen beforo mur
mured politely In low tones:
"Gentlemen's dressing-room first
floor to the right."
Domlnlck stood uncertain. He was
Here to Beg for an Invitation."
only a rare, occasional visitor at his
mother's house, and to-night the hall
stripped for revelry looked strangely
unfamiliar.
"Gentlemen's dressing-room first
floor to tho right," repeated tho sor
vnnt, and Domlnlck becamo aware of
the man's eyes, fixed on him with a
gleam of unensy scrutiny Bhlulng
through cultivated obsequiousness.
"Where is my" ho wns going to
say "mother," but checked himself,
amending it with, "Where Is Mrs.
Ryan?" '
The servant Indicated the open door
wny to tho right and Domlnlck pnBBod
In. Through tho vista of two rooms,
tholr connecting nrchways uncur
tained, ho saw tho shining spacious
nesB of tho ball-room, tho room his
motljer had added to tho house when
Cornelia, his sister, hnd "como out."
As he entered ho saw his mother
and Cornelia. They had boon stand
ing In one corner, Cornelia adjusting
tho shade of an electric light.
His mother was standing besldo her
watching tho arranging hand. Sho
was sixty-eight years of ago and very
stout, but her great wealth mado It
possible for her to employ dressmak
ers who were artists and experts, and
her ParUlan costume mado her look
almost shapely. It fell about her In
somo Jotted garnlshlngs. With tholr
shifting gleam tho glint of diamonds
mingled. Sho also woro pearls round
her neck nnd somo diamond ornn
ment8 in her elaborately-dressed gray
hair.
"Thorol" said Cornelia. "Now
they're all oven," nnd sho wheeled
slowly, hor glanco slipping along tho
veiled lights of tho sconces. In its
circuit it encountered Domintck's fig
ure in tho doorway.
"Domlnlck I" she cried, and stood
staring, naively astonished and dis
mayed. Mrs. Ryan turned with a start, her
faco suffused with color. Tho ono
word seemed to havo nn electrifying
effect upon hor, Joyous, perturbing
unquestionably exciting.
"My boy I" sho said, and sho rustled
ncross tho room with her handB out
Domlnlck walked toward her. Ho
was grave, pale, and looked thor
oughly miserable. Ho had his cano
In one hand, his hat in tho other. An
he approached hor ho moved tho hat
to his left hand nnd took hsrs.
"You'vo como I" sho said fondly. "I
know you would. Thnt's my boy. I
knew you'd como when your mother
nsked you."
"Yes, l'vo come," ho said slowly,
and looking down as If doslrlng to
avoid her eyes. "Yes, l'vo come,
but"
His mother's glanco fell from his
faco to his figure and saw under tho
looso fronts of his overcoat that ho
woro his business Bult. Her counte
nance instantly, with almost electrio
suddenness, stiffened into -ntagonism.
Her eyo lost its lovo, nnd hardened
into a stony look of defiant indigna
tion. Sho pulled her hand from' his
and Jerked back tho front of his coat
with It.
"What's this mean?" she said sharp
ly. "Why aren't you dressed? Tho
people will bo hero in a minute. You
can't como this way."
"I was going homo to dreBB," ho
said. ,fI am not sure yet that I can
come."
"Why?" sho demanded.
"I camo to ask you for an invita
tion for Berny."
"Hah!" said hiB mother, expelling
hor breath in an angry ejaculation of
confirmed suspicion. "That's it, is
it? I thought as much!"
"Mamma!" said tho girl, who had
been standing by, uneasily listening.
"Mamma dear "
"Keep quiet, Cornie," said hex
mother, "you'ro not in this" turning
to Dominick. "And so your wife sent
you up here to beg for an invitation!
She's got you under her thumb . to
that extent? Well, go back to her
and tell her that sho can send you
forty times and you'll not get it nol
whllo this is my house. When I'm
dead you can do what you llko."
Sho turned away from him, her fac
dark with stirred blood, her body
quivering. Anger was not tho only
passion that shook her. Deeper than
'this went outraged pride, lovo turned
to gall, impotent fury that tho woman
hor son had married had power ovei
him so to reduce hiB pride and hum
bio his manhood her only son, th
Joy and glory of her old age, her Ben
jamin. Ho looked after her, uncertain
frowning, desperate.
"It's not right," he protested. "It'i.
not fair. You'ro unjust to her and
to mo."
The old woman moved across th
room to the corner where sho had
been standing when ho entered. Sh
did not turn, and ho continued:
"You'ro asking peoplo to this ball
that you hardly know. Evorybody in
San Francisco's going. "What harm ,
has Berny dono that you should leav
her out this way?"
"1 don't want women with thnt kind
of record in my house. I don't ash
decent people hero to meet that sort,'
said his mother over her shoulder.
"Are you ever going to forgot thi
past, mother?"
Sho wheeled round toward him al
most shouting:
"No no no! Never! Never! Mak
your mind up to that."
They looked nt each other acrosi
tho open space, tho angry deflanc
In their faces not hiding the lovo and
appeal thnt spoko in their eyes.
"Oh, mother!" ho exclaimed, half
turning away with a movement of do
spair.
His mother looked nthlm from un
der her lowered brows, her under lit
thrust out. her fnco unrelenting.
"Como hero whenever you like," sin
said, "as often ns you want. It's youi
home, Domlnlck, mine and yours
But it's not your wife's. Understand
that."
Sho turned away and again moved
slowly townrd tho corner, her rich
skirts trailing fanwiso over tho pan
quet. Ho stood, sick nt heart, look
ing at the tip of his cano ns It rested
on tho floor. s
"Domlnlck," said hla sister's voic
besido him, "go; that's tho only thing
to do. You seo it's no use." She mad
a backward Jerk of her head toward
their mother, and then, struck by tlu
mtsory of tho oyes ho lifted to hei
face, said tenderly, "I'm so sorry
You know I'd have sent It if I could.
But It's no use. It's Just tho sami
old fight over again and nothing
gained. Tell your wifo it's hopelesa
Mnko her give It up."
Ho turned slowly, his head hanging.
"All right," ho snld, "I'll tell her.
Good night, mother."
"Good night, Domlnlck," camo tin
answer.
"Good night, Cornie." he snld in a
mulfled voice nnd left tho room.
Ho passed through tho brilliantly
bright, flowor-sceutod parlors and wna
shown out by tho strange man-servant.
Ho was a man In tho full vigor ol
his youth, strong nnd brnve, yet at
this moment ho fenrcd, feared as a
child or a timid womnn might fenr,
the thought ot his wire. Ho dreaded
to meet her; ho shrank from It, nnd to
put It off ho wandered nbout 'the fa
milial' Htreots, up ono nnd down the
other, dying (o overcome his sick
reluctance, trying to mnko up his
mind (o go (o her, (rylug to conquor
his fenr.
(TO UU CONTINUED.)
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