The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-13

ont to them her protecting arms from
the grave.
Both had been ye,y distanily related
to the late Mrs. Ford, though they were
in ne wise connected by ties Of blood
to each other. They were the oalv rel.
atives Mrs. Ford had left in the world.
and rs consequence were her natural
heirs. II had been her favorite plan
in life to see those two obdurete people
marry each other. end this keep her
Fortune ,itited in the family. But, az
they disappointed her in this, and each
one seemed to strike ont in an opposite
| direction as if anxious to conquer
worlds for themselves, Mrs. Ford had
given mp in despair, and in tit Of
chaPfih made her last will and tesla
pent after fashion peculiarly her
| own. Her fortune, valued in stocks and
bonds, besides tue elegant residence on
the avenue, ran up into round numbers
All this she left unreservedly to the
Captain and Miss Renfrew, providing
they married each other In 4 given
length Of time. Failing to do this, the
entire property was to go to the State,
with the exception Of a few hundreds.
It had been difficult to conjecture
what the Captains thoughts were as he
listened to that singular will. As for
Miss Renfrew, If she was very high and
mighty before she found ont what the
will was, she became twice as high and
mighty afterward, and it did seem for
some time as ii the State would
actually be the beneficiary after all.
Neither the Captain nor Miss Rem
frew were in the first flush of youth.
The Captain was 40 years old, if day.
He had endured the hardships
Of war, and had come home while yet a
very young man, q sort Of battle-worn
hero, with Ealting step that seemed the
very perfection of grace to the women,
who Immediately set him up rs god Of
war, and worshired al his shrine ac-
cordingly.
It's OF no use to deny but that the
Captain took kindly to This sort OF treat
ment--men invariably do. But it
spoiled him all tie same, and he deyel-
oped by degrees into one Of the most con-
summate and skillful 'coquettes' that
ever graced or dis-graced the male per-
suasion. Still the women seemed to
like him all the better for this, and he
went on his way conqunring all before
him.
There was one exception, hewever,
and that exception was Miss Renfrew.
When the Captain came home from the
wars, he had found, doniciled under the
roof.tree at Miss Ford's, thin angular
girl of Lis, too painfully shy and
plain Ms he thought, for him to
waste any of his ammunition in that di-
rection. So he had boldly carried on
his manifold tlirtations under her keen
and scornful eyes, and boasted Of his
conquests, and laughed under his breath
at the readiness with which women fell
in love with him, and otherwise chaffed
and tormented her, until the chrysalis
gradually emerged from her husk OF
reserve and difiiaence. and developed,
to the gallant Captains mbounded
amazement, into full blown butterfly,
capping the climax by picking up the
Captains own Weapons and turning
them full upon himself. 1t had been
said that Hazard was the greatest flirt
in the city, but Miss Renfrew soon
wrested this doubtful honor from him,
and people now declared solcmnly that
in the light of her performances in that
line, the Captains efforts paled into in
significance.
The angular girl oi Ii, with her
deep, dark eyes, and mouth, as
Hazard ungallantly assured her. as big
rs her hat, and that covered an acre
she affected the Gainsborough style
and he hated it-bloonel into mag
nificent woman at 26.
And perhaps nobody was more sur
prised than the Captain was himseli
one day, to discover certain party
his own exact pattern at that--yiolentl,
embracing Miss Renfrew in the back
parlor, and making certain wild and
somewhat incoherent offers OF heart
hand and pocket-book to that younl
lady. He had dim remembrance tina,
these offers Of himself aud his posses.
sions had been treated with seorn and
contumely, and that he had been the,
and there so awfully sat upon,' met
aphoricallv speaking, that life. in con
sequence, seemed bowling wilderness.
for some time afterward.
But this was a long time ago. Th,
Captain apparently did not take Iii
disappointment v.ry much to heart
though he refrainesl from offering tn.
remnants OF his affections to anybol,
else, and Miss Renfrev waxed fatte
and handsomer and wickeder, an.
counted her conuuests as the Captain
had done his as the wears rolled OF
Until now there came crisis in thei
? lives in the shape Of MIS-. Ford's viii
! that neither one could avoid
A., b,..Al
: poor as church mice The Captain ha.
Q beggarly pension and eapensiv
habits, and Miss Renfrew had the cx
pensive habits without the heggarl,
pension, and neither of them had eve
earned cent of money or did day
work in their lives. This simplifie,
matters, and brought the obdurat
l couple to focus.
: Not long after wedding ceremon
was celebrated with pleat eclat in tn
!. most fashionable church in the city
!. and the Captain and his wife entere,
at once into the tnll enjoyment of wha
Mrs. Hazard wss pleased 10 call
: "bnsinoss arrangement
Six months pissed. IN this shor
. length of time. aE.. while in the ful
a possession Of his old-timc liberty, tn
, Captain had become moody and morose
!. and Mrs. Hazard developed a tendenc
. toward hysteric, that even her bes
: friends had never suspected her {
: before her marriage.
: She had everything she wanted, even /
$ the presence of Jacob Littlefield, VIII
c danced attendance upon her whim,
u even more patiently and attentlyely tina
1 he ever had done before her marriag.
e Indeed, he made love to Mrs. Hazar
\ N such n brazen and confident mannel
IL that the Captains hands itched to TAX
h Mr. Littlefela by the nap Of the nee
Y and the slack of tbs pants and pitc
! him head and heels ont of the house.
q But this he dared not do. He +.
@ memberei, with feeling Of burnin
h rage, that Mr.. Littlefeld was part ,
Il that business arrangement which "